|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 8:23 am
The last Valentine's Day Melvin had was with Rin. He had spared no expense, booking dinner at a rooftop garden restaurant in London, letting her walk the gardens, and taking her to a nice hotel. He remembered it vividly – along with the detour she took to sneak into a closed, public pool with nothing on, not even a faint blush.
He wanted that again, but he knew that going on exactly that day had complications. Jan was his own person aside from Rin taking partnership of his body, and while Melvin wanted to shower Rin with all the attention she deserved on that day, it could possibly complicate Jan's life by having Melvin show up to take him out. Surely a man as clean and well-kept as him would have some intentions to spend it with someone. If not with someone here, at least off island.
Instead, Melvin made reservations for Sunday, the day after, and decided if Jan would decline, Melvin could call and decline the reservations or reschedule.
To be discrete, he put the flowers and chocolates inside a plastic carrying case he used for runic stones (Of which he made sure to clean first), nestling the contents in pink tissue paper. Smiling, he dressed nicely and headed to his room. It was with a thrill and a beating heart when he saw his door and tried not to rush over.
Stepping in front of the door, he knocked three times and waited.
Nothing.
Frowning, he tried again. "Jan? Are you home?"
Nothing.
Disappointed, he sent a text to Jan and left. He returned an hour later to try his door again, but again, nothing. He tried the knob, but it was locked.
"He...must be working." He said, and tried not to think that Jan might be spending some lazy morning with someone. It was the other man's business after all.
He continued this routine of checking around, and even called, but Jan didn't answer. Soon the time for the reservation had come and gone and he worried the flowers might wilt without water.
Jan hadn't responded all this time, but that was when he got tweets.
"Gone? How can he be ...gone?" Jan had made no mention of going off the island, but then again, maybe it was an emergency - but only for Death division? Death wasn't exactly set to just go on their own and would no doubt need some pairing? Then again, maybe it was just with Jan's specific work, whatever that was.
But....gone had a finality that made him shaking and feeling off kilter.
It was a word that made him feel colder and want to clutch his sweater closer to his chest as if to ward off an unpleasant breeze.
Then at last, Horace messaged him. Infirmary?
No, not Jan, but Horace?
Something had happened.
Gone.
He wasted no time and ran to the labs, passing the familiar aisles and dodging techs before he made it to the front desk. He hadn't even bothered taking the flowers and chocolates back and carried the case as he asked for Horace. He was directed to his door and yanking it open, Melvin looked around, breath short. "Horace?"
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 10:40 am
Horace startled, dropping his phone on his chest. With a grunt of pain, he carefully picked it up and set it down next to the right side of his body. Then he waved at Melvin, face blank.
"Hello, Melvin. That was... quick."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 11:52 am
He stilled, but his heart was aching from running here this quickly. Panting, he looked at Horace and was startled by his appearance. He had only seen the man a few days back and he had in no way looked this bad. Bandages snaked about his body tightly, blanketing him in gauze white from around his chest, hand, and shoulder. His skin looked just as pale if not for a sort of grime that made Melvin wonder if anyone bothered washing the man before they put on clean gauze.
Walking slowly,he set the case down and then stepped closer. "What……..what happened?"
Glancing around, he saw no other occupant in the room. "Where is Jan?"
Something had happened. Something even Horace felt could be discussed on twitter. Something grave.
He's gone.
He shuddered as he recalled the tweet.
She's gone.
Taking a deep breath, his heart refused to slow down, and now he felt edgy with the energy pumping in his system, as if bracing itself for an attack. The IV dripped in the quiet room and it all felt too still, too quiet for him to bear.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2015 4:19 pm
Melvin's nervous energy only made Horace feel blanker, colder. "I don't know where Jan is, not yet. I'm working on it." He paused, fingers curling around his home. America had only know part of it and he was waiting for Dwight's reply. Dwight had asked him why, but Horace didn't even know. Everything felt so fuzzy, so unclear. Letting go of the phone, he ran a hand across his face and, keeping it there, spoke.
"W-what..." He paused, swallowing against a suddenly dry throat. "-what if I told you Jan did this?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2015 5:27 pm
Melvin stood, looking Horace slowly over, adding up the total visible damage against the type of person Jan was, and it didn't equal up. Jan had never once showed a short temper to him, had always been collected and even friendly, and Melvin couldn't even recall the man raising his voice let alone his fist. It didn't seem the type to just fly off the handle and attack someone, especially someone had Melvin had assumed had been his friend.
"..w-What?" He asked, walking a bit closer. "What do you mean Jan did this to you?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2015 11:47 am
Melvin's confusion was both edifying (because surely Jan wasn't this type of person after all; it was some weird fluke) and disheartening (because Jan was this type of person, wasn't her? And it was Horace's fault). Horace was so tired of thinking about it, of running over the event in his mind, fitting his fingers into those ridges of memory. He wanted to be able to file it all neatly away away, to accept it - but he needed Jan for that. Jan still loved him, sort of, maybe as much as he could. "I can't love, perhaps, but isn't this so close? Isn't this more ?" But Horace might try to hold onto that 'perhaps' until his hands, bloodly and broken, slipped and fell. And we loved with a love that was more than love - in the kingdom by the sea. The poem was out of order, just like his thoughts. He shook his head slowly, hair falling into his eyes. When he spoke, his voice was clipped, dull,. "I mean he took me to a cave by the sea and did this, Melvin. Why would I lie? No, I-I don't know why." He did, sort of. He knew that America had won, in the end, with her grand orchestra drowning him out. Horace thought, maybe, if he just aw Jan, touched him, looked into his eyes... something would click and he'd understand. "I need to see him," his voice feathered on the last word, a dip into emotion that he detested. "America told me they gave him to H after th-... after. And Dwight will tell me where he is." He didn't know if Dwight would, but Horace could only allow himself to be confident. Jan really loved him, right? This was all... something had gone terribly wrong.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2015 7:06 pm
It was a good thing there was a chair next to Horace's bedside as Melvin slowly sank down before he sat. "He….took you out …and hurt you. Did…did you have an argument?" He didn't get why Jan, who had been with Horace and Jan during their mission before, would hurt them. It just – didn't match up. It was like saying Santa was wanted for 3 murders or that your drunk uncle was actually assisting the pope.
"No. I'm not saying you're lying. I just…I just don't get it. He's always been nice to me and just…the things he's done have always been kind. I thought you guys were friends." And yet here Horace was in this state. For a hunter to be this far gone must have meant something terrible had happened.
Thinking of how this could even be, he just continued looking at the other man, his only source of information and gateway to understanding just what was happening. "Was it – Did he want to spar with you outside of the training fields? Why would he want to fight you outside of the fields?" That was the only scenario he could think of one hunter physically hurting another to such an extent.
Which made him wonder.
"If…If he's not here, is she okay? Did Jan get hurt too?" Was Rin hurt? Was she not yet released to the Infirmary until she was punished?
But...no. It would be fine. Rep had cut off Rin's arm and he didn't get anything too bad. So...So it would be fine. Yet the thought of Jan with Dr. H had him nervous and on edge, and he still wasn't getting what had happened. Why was Horace this injured?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2015 10:49 am
An argument. What an understated way of putting it. Had iteven been an argument, really? Everything felt so fuzzy and unreal, like watching a show loop incessantly on a broken television. Horace sighed, the soun as soft and hesitant as his thoughts. He covered his face with his hands, acutely aware of the gap that existed were his finger had once ben. "No, Melvin, t-there was no spar. There are things.. things he's done..." Horace breathed out shakily. "I.. I can tell you later. Just not.. right now. Please." What if Melvin looked at him the way America did - eyes full of disgusted pity? "Jan was fine when I last saw him." His voice was stronger when he spoke again. IT was easier to focus on one thing alone than to try and sort though the previous days' events. Horace's phone buzzed and he picked it up. "Melvin! Dwight gave me Jan's location." He looked over at the other hunter. "Can you hekp me? I.. I'm not supposed to leave but I need to see him."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2015 3:37 pm
¬ "No, Melvin, t-there was no spar. There are things.. things he's done..."
Melvin stared back, letting Horace speak, but finding that his assumptions, his questions, were leaving him to start walking away from what was normal for a hunter to something – he didn't want to know. Who was the man that Rin occupied? What temper or what….mental twist did Jan have that let him do this? It wasn't a accident for Horace to look like this, and the fact America and the rest had to take Jan to Dr. H said something more. That they needed him to be escorted to an authority figure.
Melvin wanted to know what had happened so he could be able to gauge just how much trouble Jan was in, but looking at Horace struggle just to form the words made him quiet.
"No. You don't have to tell me right now. You can…rest." He didn't want to push him, but he was struggling with cycling through what little Horace had said and what evidence was current standing in front of him wrapped up in gauze. Placed side by side against all the times Melvin had been with Jan….the man talking with him, sharing his insights on the other world, sacrificing his body to let Rin take over, talking to him when Rin wasn't around, and doing all he could to bring them together – it didn't match.
He needed to talk to Jan and find out what had happened. He'd leave Horace to recover and hear form the other. If anything, he'd ask to talk to Rin. She'd never lie to him.
At the message, Melvin stood up. "He found him? But – Horace, you should be resting. I can go find him. Maybe bring him to you if I can or….or something." He wasn't sure Jan would even be allowed to see Horace, but the fact Horace wanted to see Jan so eagerly meant that Horace didn't hate him. It had to be a mistake. It had to be an accident.
"I have to talk to him and make sure he's okay. Can you tell me where he is?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2015 1:56 pm
"No," he said, his voice more firm. "You have to take me with you. He's... He won't be able to talk, Melvin. He's been podded." Horace ran his hand across his face and began to heave himself out of bed. Aside from his injuries - the chest, shoulder, hand - hje was more or less healthly. Of course, it didn't help that Horace could not find a shirt anywhere. Without a shirt, his wounds were more apparent. He sighed and stood up, catching onto the bed for brief support. "I just need to see him. Here's where they have him." Horace showed Melvin the screen of his phone and the conversation with Dwight. ----- Melvin had eased out of the curtain first, at Horace's suggestion. After all, Melvin had a right to move about as he pleased within the infirmary. Horace followed, trying to keep his eyes peeled for a nurse who might stop him or worse, his assigned doctor. "Is the coast clear?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2015 3:40 pm
His breath stopped as he looked at Horace. "Podded?" He repeated, disbelief laced with shock at what that meant.
Jan was not able to be spoken to, touched, or held. Rin was now gone out of his reach for the moment, but there was a mess of other complications with that. Pods were not safe.Many died in pods and many were vulnerable in a pod. Pods also meant locked away and he had no information to guage for how long Jan would be kept in there.
He didn't have the energy or time to argue wtih Horace when he was his guide to getting to her. He had to go now and see for himself, and Horace was right on board with his urgency.
Stepping out, he looked around, trying not to look too suspicious. Turning, he took off his jacket and tossed it as lightly as he could at Horace. "All clear. Put that one to cover yourself." Not only to keep the man warm, but Horace screamed 'patient' to any onlooker.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2015 10:55 am
Finn was, at that very moment, not in sight so, of course, the coast did appear and indeed actually was for a short time, clear. He was busy, checking on other patients, many of which were drugged and very much asleep, needing little more for him to do then to check monitors and vitals. The sound of a pen scritching against the surface of paper on a clipboard would have been the only thing to give him away, though that was likely drowned out by the beeping of runic infirmary equipment and hissing of air through pumps and compressors. But he could hear the talking from where he was, hidden from view on the other side of a curtain just a room down from Horace's. He heard it like background noise, television static, hardly worth taking note of or actually eavesdropping on. But then, something about it caught his attention. Perhaps it was the tone, the hushed worry, or something else entirely, but it managed to trigger Finn's sense's that something foul was afoot. He stopped what he was doing and listened closer. "All clear. Put that on to cover yourself."Without hearing anything more, Finn rolled an eye, and swiped back the curtain to step out into the paths of the two who were intending to head out of the infirmary together, for whatever ******** up reason that Finn really didn't give any shits about. "Good day, gentlemen." He said, smoothly, clipboard folded in against his side while his other hand found it's way into a jacket pocket, stance almost too casual. "Going somewhere?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 9:25 am
Horace shrugged into the coat, grateful that Melvin had thought of it. He wasn't thinking of much - a cold, shivery sort of urgency had stolen over him. Jan was podded; he couldn't ask the things he needed, couldn't touch him, but Horace could go see him. Provided they got out. His wounds were mostly healed - there had been some worry of infection, especially in his finger, er... his finger's joint. But Jan's stitches were as precise as his knifework. It ached and sometimes he thought he felt that his finger was still there even though it wasn't, but it was mending. At Finn's words he stilled, inhaling a sharp breath. Well, s**t. He was too tired, too blank for his usuall sass, so instead he looked at Finn as if slowly processing his presence. "Hello. We were going just around the corner." As far as excuses went, it was bad and not very believable. Despite this, Horace tried to push forward and edge around Fin..
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2015 7:14 pm
Melvin froze, not realizing they had even been loud. Barely down the hall and they were already caught. You'd think that Life was good friends with Death with how security went around here. Spinning around, Melvin stood tall and as rigid as a pole as he looked at his fellow Lifer. Despite having done a lot of duty work in the Infirmary, Melvin was slowly starting to get serious, bad marks. First was trying to steal Rin from the morgue, and the other was summoning his weapon and firing it in the Infirmary. He really didn't need assisting a patient to escape as another charge to his record.
Not as inventive as Horace either at the moment, he grasped at the excuse given. "Yes! Horace here wanted to stretch his stiff legs and - and something from the vending machine." He reached over, grabbing Horace's arm lightly. "Isn't that right?"
He hoped Finn wouldn't tell Dr. Stephen about this. He didn't want the man to know he was up to no good and come off as a bad Lifer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2015 9:47 pm
Finn snorted. "The ******** you are. You know, I can be a pretty ******** lenient guy at times. I've let people sign out to go out for an hour or two, get some sunshine, some air, or maybe, just to have a smoke. Most of the time, if the very latter, I'll actually join them myself. You, however, can go straight to hell. Or back to your ******** hospital bed. Whichever you believe will be closer and easier to get to." A hand was lifted, and Horace was given a very firm shove against his shoulder, back in that direction. His gaze then moved to Melvin, a man he faintly recognized but likely only through infirmary shifts, as Finn actually was not in Life division at all but in Moon, and only worked in the infirmary as a means to propel himself further into his field of specialization. After all, a guy had to learn to do surgery from somewhere before he could practice it out in the field. His eye flicked down to the hand on Horace's arm, and then back to Melvin's face once more. "Request, not that you even bothered to ******** make one, denied. And you can get the ******** out of here, unless you're actually working. Visiting hours are over." Or at least, for Horace they now were. Finn had no time for this bullshit, nor did he plan on being held responsible for some idiot escaping the infirmary while on his watch.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
