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 Posted: Sat May 05, 2007 12:03 pm
"Qui--hnn..." Liam flinched at not so much the sound as the person behind it. Timid little Julian. What was it this time? Possessions? Marque-breaking? Giant brain-eating zombie spiders?
"I feel kinda bad for you, walkin' into all this s**t."
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Posted: Sat May 05, 2007 12:04 pm
"So do I," Ethan muttered, glancing over his shoulder. The door was kicked open and Julian stepped out, ignoring the pair as he sped down the stairs and out towards the city.
"Julian," Ethan ventured.
"Get ********," Julian replied, not bothering to look behind him as he walked on.
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Posted: Sat May 05, 2007 12:06 pm
Liam flipped Julian off as he went down the stairs and hugged Ethan impulsively.
"Good Christ on a ********' cracker."
His bet was now on giant brain-eating zombie spider possession.
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Posted: Sat May 05, 2007 12:09 pm
Ethan leaned against Liam, eyes downcast.
"See?" he said. "They're like that to everyone. He's acting like he did when I first met him."
A shudder ran through him then and he ran his hand through his hair impulsively, remembering how Julian had yanked back his head so far he'd nearly snapped Ethan's neck in two.
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Posted: Sat May 05, 2007 12:14 pm
"Yeah, well..." Liam said, brow furrowed, thinking back that far, "I'm pretty sure something was up then too. I mean, Hell, if it weren't for me, I'm pretty sure Julian would have...torn your neck skin off. I'm sure it'll all be okay, though. It always is, in the end." He rubbed Ethan's shoulder affectionately and shook his head.
"Here we go again, eh?"
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Posted: Sat May 05, 2007 12:30 pm
"Yeah," Ethan said with a sigh. "Here we go again."
Head hanging low, Ethan wished suddenly and wholeheartedly he was back home on Earth. A feeling he hadn't had in months. Hadn't had in a year. He nearly said it when Nen's beaten old car pulled up the road, single headlight jouncing as the car ran over a rock.
"Your house is ******** impossible to find," Nen said, leaning out the window. "Who's your friend?"
"Hello, Nen," Ethan said. "This is Liam."
"He's cute," Nen said, nodding in approval.
"Taken too."
"Damn my horrible luck. I'll just have to drug you and keep you as my love slave, then."
"Nen, not in front of people capable of human speech I'm BEGGING you."
Nen snorted and opened the passenger door for Ethan. He hesitated, giving Liam another hug before leaving.
"I'll call," he said, closing the door. "See you..."
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Posted: Sat May 05, 2007 12:32 pm
"Sounds good," Liam said, lsughing slightly and returning the final hug, "Alright. See you. Godspeed, buddy."
He sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets, mind running over every possible cuss-word he knew.
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Posted: Sat May 05, 2007 3:09 pm
__Part 21
Julian was in an unfamiliar place again. Tucked away into a side-alley, hidden from the streets. All alone.
"What..." he muttered, pushing himself up off the ground. A minute ago it had been night. By the way the sunlight was pouring down the dingy walls of his alley, he was guessing it was now early afternoon. He'd lost time again.
"Where the hell am I," he asked himself, stumbling deeper into the alley when he'd meant to leave it. He was so dizzy. So cold. "Hnnn..."
He brushed a hand clumsily over his face at spots that were itching. Great. Now all he needed aside from blackouts was to awaken and found out he was leprous. He looked at his hand and saw that a dark red crust had built up under his fingernails.
"Ungh!"
He rubbed his hand harshly across his face, getting rid of the itchy dry patch around his mouth. Old blood flaked off his skin. He didn't know how it had gotten there. He looked around, certain someone was watching, would scream and bring in more people to come and gawk at the horror of him.
"No," Julian said firmly. "You're being an idiot and really dramatic. Cool it."
It had to be his. He looked around the alley. No body. He must have....well, he must have hurt himself somehow. It had healed, and the blood had dried on his face.
Now the only question that remained was how the hell he'd gotten here in the first place. He staggered from the alley and looked around. He'd reached the borders of the city, and the shimmering expanse of desert stretched out in front of him from behind the barred gates of the wall. He winced as a blast of raw heat howled over the city wall and swept over the mostly empty street, whipping dust into his face and eyes. Despite the scorching heat on his face he was still shivering, and he wandered closer to the gate. The metal was hot to the touch as he leaned against it, allowing the parched wind to sweep over him again. He very nearly felt warm...
"Home," he said at random, startling himself. "I need to go home."
So he turned away from the desert, shivering in desert heat, and walked towards home again.
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Posted: Sat May 05, 2007 3:17 pm
__Part 22
Exhausted before, Julian was sure that he was walking upright now only from sheer force of will. He was so damnably cold. Wiping his mouth, certain the bloodstain would somehow come back on its own, he climbed up the stairs and leaned against the door, trying to push it open. The world seemed to tilt under his feet and he slid with it, sliding down to rest on the stoop. He wiped sweat from his face, trying to catch a breath. His eyes closed as he hunched over, and he didn't notice the steady thick stream of blood that splattered onto the ground from his nose.
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Posted: Sat May 05, 2007 3:20 pm
"Uhh...Julian? You're kinda bl--gushing. Yeah. Pretty much gushing."
Björn had been out at some absurd pub for hours, trying to glean more than fifteen beers from only three different tenders. That had begun to fear for his saftey, and so he'd come home.
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Posted: Sat May 05, 2007 3:38 pm
"Hh...hmph. Again?"
Julian's eyes cracked open and his head swung back slowly. Blood trickled into his mouth and he spit it out.
"Well, ********," he said, awake enough to feel annoyed. He tentatively pinched his nostrils shut, hands splattered with blood. "At least I still have my dignity."
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Posted: Sat May 05, 2007 3:39 pm
"Of course," Björn nodded, "Do you...ah...need any help?" Poor guy looked stoned, drunk, and half-dead. He had to need help.
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Posted: Sat May 05, 2007 3:43 pm
"That would be really great right about now. The world seems to be tilting very firmly to the left," Julian said, trying to stand and leaning against the wall. One hand was smashed against his nose, blood trickling steadily out between his fingers. He couldn't even imagine how he looked, though after evidently spending the night in an alleyway he had a decent guess or two.
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Posted: Sat May 05, 2007 3:45 pm
Björn reached out and attempted to steady Julian with one hand, looking only slightly terrified, and even then only in the eyes.
"C'mon, then. Let's get you inside."
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Posted: Sat May 05, 2007 3:48 pm
The heat off Björn's hand felt as though it was going to burn the skin off Julian's shoulder, but he grit his teeth and bore it, stumbling inside.
"Thanks," he said, one hand trailing against the wall in case the world suddenly decided to shift to the right. "I just...I really need to lie down."
But when they reached the room, the door was firmly closed. He rattled the knob.
"Crow?" he called. "Hello?"
There was no ******** b***h," Julian muttered, pressing his forehead against the door in attempt to stop swaying where he stood.
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