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 Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 1:20 pm
Alec sunk back down into the tub when he heard the shuffle of Amaya's approaching form coming back towards the bathroom."Oh. Ekay." He nodded understandingly though made no effort to mirror her smile. He turned away and nestled his awkward and malformed body back into place in favor of staring at the wall on the opposite side of the room.
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Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 5:44 pm
Amaya watched him with a heavy heart. She had never wanted more to just run up and hug him, to tell him everything would be okay and that she was always here for him... but she didn't know if that was what he wanted.
She turned and headed back out into the bedroom. She called the labs and asked for a spesific wheelchair. One that strapped him in and had holes in the back for his fins. They said it would take a couple of days for it to be made and brought to him, so until then... he would have to make due.
The girl sighed, her shoulders slumped. Reaching down she picked up the bag filled with food and water and the package, then walked back into the bathroom with it and sat down backwards on the toilet. Her tail still got in the way a lot - one would wonder how she did normal things like going to the bathroom or taking a shower.
"They said it'd take a couple of days for it to get here. If you want I can stay until then - or however long you want me to..." She trailed off for a moment, yellow eyes looking at him. "And here-" The bag full of food and bottles of water was held out to him. It contained anything she thought he might like: from potato chips and pizza to steak chunks and cookies. "-I didn't know what you'd want, so I just grabbed a little bit of everything."
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Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 6:06 pm
Alec nodded again, quietly listening to the update. It was just like the Labs to make him suffer longer; even though he knew that modifying a wheelchair would take some time, he was convinced that they were delaying him transportation on purpose. Why wouldn't they? They were sick in the head already anyways.
"Thanks." He croaked and reached out for the offered food, causing more of a cascade of water to fall over the rim of the tub he was in but he paid no attention to it. He would've eaten anything at that point but was thankful Amaya had chosen foods she knew he liked and as he picked out some choice bits to swallow down, he glanced over to the package. "Whassa'?"
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Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 6:27 pm
Amaya seemed to be ignoring the water spilling over the edge as well - she'd clean it up later. "Hm? Oh." She reached back with her free hand and held out the package to him. "I dunno, it was on your doorstep."
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Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 6:35 pm
Alec thankfully took the package from her and examined it superficially. The last time he received a package was for his Halloween costume, why would anyone bother sending something else? Shrugging off his skepticism, the teen gingerly tore off the brown packaging and opened the box in curiousity though the second the moisture on his fingers touched the note inside he quickly handed it back to Amaya. "C'n ye read i'? Me 'ands are wet." He looked hesitant to let it go but knew it was better for her to read it for him rather than ruin the contents with water damage. He did however, catch a glimpse of something else that was bright yellow inside and quickly snatched that out of the container before giving the rest.
What he held was.... a toy. A duck, even. He turned it in his hands over and over while staring at it oddly. What nut-job sent him a rubber ducky?
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Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 6:51 pm
"Sure." The reptile took the note and then the package once he had finished unwrapping it. After setting it aside she dried off the note and began reading it.
"Happy birthday, Alec. Nothing like a... fascinating new body for ones' birthday, eh...?" She paused, her heart sinking. A gag gift from the labs no doubt. Poor Alec...
"Well, judging from the cameras, not everyone appreciates a change as a present, so here's something else. Given your new form, you'll likely be rather restricted on land. So here's something to make bathtime much more fun." Amaya slumped, her head sinking.
"I'm sorry, Alec..." She said afterwards, though didn't know what exactly she was appologizing for.
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Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 7:03 pm
Alec felt a chill run down his spine as his heart sank with Amaya's, his hope that the present was from a friendly Islander successfully relinquished. He felt the tears sting the corners on his eyes like a child being laughed at in the schoolyard at recess time, but fought them back well to don an expression of calm once again. He looked at the duck again, rolling it in his hand and rubbing the funny pink hair. Bitter. The feeling of bile and hatred all welling and churning inside.
He plopped the duck into the tub with him, watching its smiling face bob about around his shoulders. "A'll call 'em Mawteh." He announced in a surpringly light tone, ignoring Amaya's sad looks from the corner of his eye. Perhaps he was just being cynical now but the fake cheer was making him feel better somehow or maybe it was just surpressing. Both felt good, either way.
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Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 7:10 pm
Amaya watched him for a few moments in silence, unable to add onto the fake cheer that the shark boy seemed to be able to summon. Her thoughts boiled and bubbled around in her mind before they finally popped, spilling out of her mouth before she could stop herself.
"I'm sorry." She said suddenly, voice as quiet as always. "About the last time we talked. I didn't mean to hound on you. I understand if you don't... like me, but I'll help you as long as I can."
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Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 7:58 pm
Alec clenched his jaw and returned to staring at Marty again as Amaya started up the subject he'd prayed to avoid the entire time. He shook his head vigorously and interrupted the last of her speech as he now looked unsettled in the tub. "S'ekay, joost.... a' d'n wnneh talk abou' i'." He quickly stuttered, voice stern but filled with a sudden emotion. "S'no' wha' ye think so joost... leave i' be f'lateh." He said all this without looking at her once, not wanting to ellaborate. It was better to prolong it then to add more negativity to this mood.
His restlessness seemed to be justified when the teen abruptly sat up, looking determined to leave the bath. He'd taken up enough of Amaya's time. Enough effort wasted on waiting on him. He was so grateful... but there was no point. "Ye d'n 'afteh stay all tha' time." He quietly uttered, trying to make the point that he was neither angry nor upset at her in any way. He just wanted her to leave now, to be alone. "Thanks... f'elping me. A'll come pick ye up when a' get me wheels, we'll go fo' a walk..." He sounded so sure of the future now, it was impossible to think he was breaking on the inside.
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Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 8:04 pm
"Okay..." Amaya said timidly, looking down at her scaley feet until he spoke again. Yellow eyes raised and watched him sit up in the tub.
"A-alright..." She stood up, glancing down at the food and setting it on the floor away from the water. She'd leave it there for him, knowing it would probably be able to support him until his wheelchair arrived. "Just... call me if you need anything, okay?" She said, her expression still sad.
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Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 8:33 pm
"Go' i'." Alec gave her the thumbs up as he was twisting around to brace his arms on the side of the tub he was going to depart from. He looked unsure of himself for a moment as he stared down at the tile floor, only to glance up at Amaya again. Maybe he'd wait until after she left to make his ingraceful landing...
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Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 8:35 pm
Amaya watched him warily, as if she was about to run forward and catch him before he could fall. But instead she sighed and turned for the bathroom door. "I'll... see ya." With a wave of one of her large hands she left the bathroom and then his duplex altogether to head back to her own.
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Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 8:35 pm
Broken Hearts and Shattered Dreams Alec breathed a sigh of relief the moment he heard the door shut. He was alone now, finally. The first order of business was to free himself from his bath tub and he did this with little strategy or grace though he didn't care much. Bracing his arms on one side of the tub, he used all his strength to lift himself vertically before shifting his weight forwards. There was a moment a weightlessness in his awkward teetering position until gravity made quick work on his form as it was bent precariously over the edge. With a loud screech of rubbery skin sliding across ceramic, the teen collapsed into a large puddle beside the tub having wished he had thought up a better method faster. There was always next time.
It wasn't long before the sharkboy was moving again, gathering his energy to devise a way of moving about on his own with efficiency. That was the issue now. Self-sustainment. Independance. There was no way he'd submit to this feeble, ugly, mutilated mish-mash of tissue that was his body now. He had dignity; or at least he'd try to keep what was left of it. The next few hours were spent cleaning up after himself, the impulsive motions of continuous work dulled the pain that was still deep within himself, that which he'd refused to transfer to Amaya. He'd crawl along the carpet mostly by upper-body strength, using his malformed leg-fins as rudders and footholds much like a seal wood. He was getting pretty good at it, but it was a horrendously draining task. The bark on his body was tough and often caught the fibers in the carpet to drag him down but he kept going as he took his sweet time.
In was funny, the feelings he had once he'd finished his meager goal of cleaning up his duplex. The floor was no longer littered with bottles or clothes, clear paths for unhindered movement. Yet the place felt empty, alien and unforgiving. Things looked so different from the new angle, almost frightening, it made him want to cry for help. Or was it he the one who felt empty?
He knew something had changed alright. He was lacking something now that stemmed beyond his damned lower half. For once in his life, he couldn't find hope.
And why? Why was this all happening so fast? Why him of all people, to suffer a life as an invalid? Is that what he was to become? Life's extra baggage, an annoyance, a useless waste of life that only brought pain to those who laid eyes upon it. Would people remember his name or would they see only the twisted piece of flesh that remained... how could they be so heartless?
Hate.
Intense, burning, growing hate.
Hate for the man who brought this upon them and hate for those who'd surely look down on him and judge him as a monster. But what? He couldn't avenge himself, he couldn't even repay the favor that day in the Village when he held a syringe to a woman's throat and demanded freedom, release from the pain.
He was pathetic. He WAS pathetic. No... THEY were pathetic. All of them. Every. Single. One.
His legs, Oh God his legs. He could still feel them moving, shifting when he didn't notice, always feeling like he could somehow leap up from that godamned floor and run. And he'd try and be repaid with a wiggle of a flipper. He wouldn't run anymore. He wouldn't be able to dance or jump or play soccer anymore. He couldn't kick stones or feel the soft sand squish under the soles of his feet. Hell... he probably couldn't be able to play his drums anymore. Or could he?
And the teen soon found himself crawling, dragging himself faster towards his beloved drum kit on the opposite side of the room. It was still shiny around the rims; he polished it, of course. But that didn't matter now. Could he play it. He needed to know like a caged bird staring through the iron bars of its enclosure, hoping, praying it could somehow remember how to sing.
It was no use. There was no way he could balance himself on the stool anymore, let alone manipulate the footpedals. He couldn't bear to sit upright for so long and it wasn't like he could reach the drums from the floor... they were towers compared to where he lay. ******** drums. He hated them. He hated looking at them, like the very sight of them reminded him he was too WEAK to play, too changed to even TRY to act like he used to act so long ago. It was all a godamn joke, He knew it'd end like this. That's why He gave them in the first place. Mocking, stabbing, grinding salt into the wounds HE created!
He was crying now, bawling in a mixture of gutteral growls and shaking sobs until he was almost seeing red. In a feat of strength he lifted himself to his knees and took a moment to balance himself before he snatched the first drum by the metal leg and began bashing it into the ground in a fury of splintering plexiglass and sheet covering. The rush of adrenaline was aiding his rage as he flung piece by piece of his long-cherished instrument into walls, furniture, all the way across the room until he had no strength left to even keep himself upright. Collapsing into heap of blood, tears and shattered bits of materials, he lay there moaning in shear agony squeezing out every last ounce of sorrow into every sound he made.
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Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2006 11:06 pm
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Posted: Tue Nov 21, 2006 4:11 pm
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