45Rain's pouring. He can't stop the bleeding. It's coming. Who-what is it? No one answers. The woman's weak. He's too small. He's too heavy. They run, they climb. It's closer. It smells them. He moans, he roars. The boy slips, the woman tries to help them. They're too slow. The monster has caught up. It has the woman dangling at its hand. One last word choked out: "GO!". He tries to listen, but fear controls. The woman disappears leaving a stretching cloud of dust. He roars, taking thundering steps. Anger comes, fear steps aside. His hands are muddy, his hands are bloody. He leaves his friend on the hill. He steps out of the boundary, shouting at the one who killed the person he loves. He runs, the other charges. They meet in the middle. They fight, he slays. He staggers towards his friend on the hill, possibly bleeding. Definitely hurt. He sits on his knees next to his bleeding friend. Can he move him? Can he not? He takes the chance using his strength, dragging his friend down the other side of the hill. They don't go far. Fear and weakness overcome the boy once more, and he collapses, unconscious. But not before looking into the face of a girl. The girl.
He awakes when the raven-haired boy opens the puke colored curtains. Percy groans in pain as his eyes flutter open to meet the dreadful light. Percy silently begs Nico to close the curtains. Nico stares at his best friend as the tears begin to form. He blinks. "He's gotten too soft, too weak." Nico thinks. Nico tells Percy to get up. He says he wants Percy to meet someone. Percy's tired of Nico trying to have Percy 'Meet someone.' and simply says no. Nico puts his hand on his hips, huffing. He doesn't have time for this, he has three hours worth of homework (just from morning classes) and he skipped lunch for Percy. Nico's forced to tear the light blue sheets off of Percy. Percy curls up into a ball, trying to find a warmth. Nico wants to be a sympathetic old sap for the guy, but remembers he's on a mission. He takes hold of the older ones feet, and pulls. Percy hits the floor with a bang, and he groans loudly.
A FACT
Neither thought he' d ever be capable
of the sound ever again.
Nico thinks he's heard a snap. Percy shakily gets onto his knees, and Nico helps him to his feet, whispering encouraging words. There's a small flash in Percy's head. A memory. The memory of his whispering for Rachel to stay alive- to hold onto the pieces, not let go. Percy shudders, and Nico asks if he's cold. Percy shakes his head no, but Nico takes a small blanket and drapes it over Percy's pajama'd shoulders. Percy gives a small thank you, hugging the blanket tighter around him. Nico walks with Percy to the living room/kitchen. On a couch sits a woman with a small bag. Her hair's pulled into a sloppy bun, and wears mis-matched clothes. In honest, she looks better than Percy seeing as his pajamas are crumpled, and his hair is mangled, very untamed.
The woman with blonde hair looks at them, and when she sees her patient-Percy- she knows he's going to be difficult. Nico has Percy sit o his light brown couch. Percy ends up lying down on the couch, yawning. The woman reaches into her bag, pulling out a pad and a pencil. She scribbles something down on the paper. Percy looks at the woman again. A few strands of her blonde hair have fallen in front of her face, he raises an eyebrow, but you couldn't see it. She reminds him of someone. Unfortunately, he does not know whom, exactly. Nico sits awkwardly on the soft brown carpet. The room has a tension filled silence, but then Nico introduces himself, and urges Percy to do the same. The woman keeps her eyes on the problem-Percy-. She says her nickname quietly: "Anna."
She turns to Percy, but directs the question to Nico.
"Does he speak?" Nico cracks a grin, cracking his knuckles expertly.
"You didn't hear the complaining in the other room?" He jokes. Anna takes this seriously and writes this down in her notepad.
A FACT
She took most things seriously.
She nods, setting her pencil on her thigh. Percy, in his barely audible voice finally speaks.
"I speak." He only talks now because he's felt left out, he feels as though he's a person with an illness, and these two people are making fun of him, and testing on him. But Anna nods. She's making some type of progress. She was sure she was going to fix Percy. She could fix anything, positive. Nico gets up from the carpet, looking at the clock.
"Twelve O' five." He whispers, his eyes widening. He has fifteen minutes to get back to school.
A SMALL FACT
It's on the other side of town.
I'll be back around three." He says, walking quickly over to the countertop to grab his keys. He's out the door in a flash. As soon as Percy hears the door shut he gets into a sitting position.
"Sleep?" He asks hopefully. Anna shakes her head, more loose hairs falling. She's smiling slightly. Percy wonders if all women look this beautiful now. Seeing as though he hasn't seen the outside world since last year. Nico brings in his food, does his shopping, washes his clothes, gets his newspaper (which Percy usually doesn't look at.), and sometimes pays his bills. Percy realizes he wouldn't know what to do if Nico had ever left him. He'd be so lost. So dead inside. But he's dead inside now, and this is what the specialist is for. Percy's already thinking of a way to get rid of her. It's a little hard since he hasn't really thought for a long time. Anna scribbles something else on her notepad, and Percy realizes: She's cute. Percy scowls at himself. Junior year he promised he'd never think any way of a girl that way ever again.
Anna raises an eyebrow, but Percy ignores it as he curses once more.
"Percy," Anna asks in a gentle voice. Percy raises his eyes from his lap, to Anna's face.
"Yes?" He whispers.
"When was the last time you've gone outside? You're so…pale." Percy absentmindedly taps his feet together, making a small click.
"Last year…" He says looking down again. Anna gasps.
"Why haven't you gone outside?"
"I can't trust you." Percy says. He wants to trust her for some reason though. He wants to tell her what made him this way.
"You can trust me. I'm a Specialist. Everyone trusts me." Percy sighs. Every therapist says the same thing-except she said Specialist, not therapist. It's new. Percy stands from the couch. Anna stands with him, obviously not giving him the okay to leave. They stare into each other's eyes. Grey to green. Percy has another flash. It was him, and a blonde girl in an orange shirt staring at each other on a balcony. Percy's hands rise to his temples, and he staggers a step forward, rubbing his temples. Anna's face fills with concern-it's her job, Percy figures.
"Are you okay?" Anna asks. Percy doesn't answer, he's in pain. It's as though a concussion, migraine, headache, and a hangover had been merged together and tested on Percy. Percy felt hands on his shoulders and felt himself tense under the unexpected pressure. He wouldn't let anyone touch him except for Nico.
After the accident, Percy stayed away from people and people stayed away from Percy. He scared them in a way. But it was nothing in comparison to the fact that life and death haunted Percy. Not even his dreams were safe. Percy glared at the blonde twenty year old. It had no affect with the bags under his blood-shot eyes.
"Maybe we should stay inside for today." Anna offers.
"I wasn't planning on leaving." Percy growls. Anna winces, and Percy apologizes. A simple exchange. Anna asks Percy a few for questions that take a while to answer. Percy quietly, and tiredly answers half of them. He hadn't stayed up longer than two hours since last year. This was record-breaking. Anna plays a mind game to build self-confidence and intelligence, and to keep Percy awake.
Exactly at three O' clock, Nico comes to Percy's apartment soaking wet.
"It's raining outside and someone stole my bike." He explains, only shrugging. He looks around the apartment, surprised that nothing's broken. Percy asks if Anna will be back next week. Nico feels like he's been slapped in the face with the element of surprise. Nico nods and tells Percy he can go to sleep. Percy trudges back to his room, and Nico takes Ann out in the apartment's hall.
"What's your secret?" He asks her. Anna lets out a hearty two-second laugh and tells the sixteen year old she'll be back next week. She starts walking down the hallway, and Nico opens the apartment door back up. He can see her smiling as she turns the corner. He shakes his head with a small smile on his lips. He steps into the apartment, closing the door mumbling: "Specialists."