Scars

[Waddle]

Everything was a blur of sounds and voices, almost drowned out by a thrumming roar, and somewhere, a siren. He tried to open his eyes, but found he was too weak to even do that small task. He was completely at the mercy of those around him. He was without a clue as to what was going on, or what had gone wrong. He knew something had, though. It was obvious from the frantic pitches of the voices that pierced his foggy brain occasionally. But what had gone wrong? Where was he? A sudden spear of fear stabbed his heart as he realized he couldn't answer the last question, growing as he realized he couldn't remember anything, and then the world went dark again.

He woke slowly, dragging himself from the deep shadows and opening his eyes. Well, his eye. The right one was swollen shut. He rolled his eyes to take in his surroundings. He was in some sort of hospital room, with the curtains drawn so he couldn't see outside. And he was completely alone. Closing his eye for a second, he listened to the heart monitor beeping. What had happened? Opening his eye again, he reached one had up to his eye, feeling around his face. He winced and put his hand back down as the inflamed tissue stung and pulsed with his heartbeat. His head hurt to much to think on it right then. He relaxed himself, closed his eye again and tried to empty his mind. Tried to let unconsciousness take over his mind again.

[Anty]

Anthony had left Tomo where he was, he didn't care about that now. He ran, and ran, he had never run that fast in his life, he ran until he got to the local clinic. Then he stopped in his tracks, stooping over from the strain of running, he placed his palms on his knees, wiping the tears from his face with his sleeve, he didn't want Evan to see him crying, someone had to be strong. Then he thought of Evan... if Evan could see.

Once he had caught his breath, he walked to the glass door, placing his left hand, the right one was still severely hurt from the blow he had given Tomo. He stopped, he didn't want to do this. What if Evan was dead? A chill went down his back, he had to find out, the sooner the better. He opened the door and stepped inside, approaching the front desk. "I need to see Evan Ikron," he told the old woman who eyed him warily. 'Are you family?" she asked in a thick, nasally voice. He swallowed, suddenly his tongue felt dry, he hesitated, "Yes. I'm his brother," he told her, daring her to defy him.

' ... Alright. Follow me,' she stood from her seat and began walking without checking to see if he followed. Anthony followed her like a lost puppy through the white hallways, twisting this way and that. He was sure they must have taken a wrong turn when they stopped in front of a small white door. It had reminded him of the institution he had stayed at years ago, and he shivered, not liking the idea. The old woman gestured towards door, 'This is it. But I warn you, he-' Anthony didn't hear what she had to say. He swung the door open, stepping into the bright room.

He closed the door behind him. He looked around and choked on his tears, he saw Evan lying there, vulnerable. His head swung around to the door, a doctor had walked in. "Hello doctor, I'm Anthony, Evan's brother," he held out his hand, but realized it was covered in dried blood and let it drop to his side. "Is he alright?" he asked, his tongue felt thick in his mouth. The doctor looked over to Evan, 'Well he's certainly not alright, but yes, he'll live.'

Anthony sighed in relief, he wanted to hug the doctor, but he didn't, he was covered in Tomo's blood. Tomo... he thought sourly. He heard a loud beeping noise and swung his head back to the doctor, cocking his head interrogatively. 'I've got to run, will you watch him for me?" he left the room without waiting for an answer.

Anthony walked over to Evan's bed, and tears rolled down his cheeks onto the white sheets. "Evan... I'm sorry," he didn't know why he was sorry, but he was. Maybe it was because he had made the decision to go to the Silent Rose, which led to everything. He took Evan's hand in his own, though his fingers were all broken, he tolerated the pain.

[Waddle]

More voices broke the silence of the room, but he ignored them, on the verge of sleep. The door opened and shut several times, and the sounds pulled him back into the real world. He pretended to sleep for several seconds, then someone was talking to him and had his hand in theirs. Opening one eye, he looked up at the man with a blank expression. "Who the devil are you?" he asked in a cracked voice. His jaw hurt, badly, but he ignored the pain and just made the mental note to not talk too much if he could avoid it. The stranger must have the wrong room. With my face, I guess it would be hard to tell who I am, he thought sourly.

He looked down at his hand in the stranger's and pulled it back when he saw the blood. Putting his hand on his chest instead, he returned his gaze to the stranger. Why did he have to be bothered? He just wanted to sleep. Maybe, it was all a dream. Maybe, if he fell asleep, he would wake up somewhere else, able to remember everything. This had to be a nightmare. I'm probably passed out drunk at a bar or something, he thought, amused. He gulped; his throat was dry as a desert and he was thirsty, but he didn't complain. His brain was instead now sifting through his memory. No, it was poking helplessly at the empty space where his memory should have been. That was closer to the truth.

[Anty]

Anthony winced at the dry and cracked voice, but what bothered him more was that Evan had no idea who he was.. He opened his mouth to speak, but he shut it, realizing he had nothing to say. He bit his lip the inside of his lip, had Evan really forgotten him? He looked at his face closely, but it was hard to distinguish any of its features, everything was either broken or inflamed, which made Ant feel better about what he had done to Tomo. He cursed, actually, he wished he had killed him then and there.

He turned away from Evan, trying to distract his mind with different things. He looked around the room, it was large, white, and smelled like rubber gloves, like most clinics. His eyes trailed to a small table in the corner with a clear plastic glass and a pitcher of water. He walked over to it and poured the clear liquid into the small glass, letting it splash out of the glass and onto his aching hand. He walked back over to the bed, "Here," he said none too kindly and held out the glass for Evan. "It'll help ease your throat." He swallowed, imagining the cold liquid sliding down his dry throat.

[Waddle]

He watched the stranger warily as he went to the table and pour water. He couldn't help but lick his busted lips at the sight of the water, but quickly stopped as the man turned about and handed the glass to him. Pausing for a second, he took the glass and put it to his lips and swallowed. The water eased his throat and he rested the cup on his stomach, looking back at the stranger. Why wasn't he answering his question? Did he work here? Were they trying to keep something from him? No, that guy wouldn't be working here, not with that outfit. As far as he knew, you had to have scrubs. So what was the guy doing here?

He cleared his throat. "You didn't answer my question. I can't remember anything." His voice was better now, just a little slurred from his broken jaw, but still understandable.

[Anty]

Anthony sighed and sat down in the chair beside the bed. He placed his elbows on his knees and his forehead in the palm's of his hands. He looked down at the white tile flooring, and bounced his knee up and down. "I'm your best friend, practically your brother. Your only brother." He looked at him through the corner of his eye, "And you are Evan Ikron. But.. did you seriously forget everything?"

He stood from his chair, unable to sit still any longer, and went to the small bathroom in the room. It made him feel claustrophobic, like he was caged. He washed the dried blood from his hands face and let out a shaky sigh. What was he going to do? Evan was the one who always took care of Ant, but now their roles had switched. Could they, or rather, could Ant do it? He wiped his hands on his blood stained pants and stepped back outside.

His hands searched for his pockets, but there was something in the way. "Huh?" He pulled the object out, and he stared, shocked. It was his gun. How was he going to explain this one?

[Waddle]

He blinked as his 'only brother' told him who he was. Evan? The name was familiar, and it tickled something in the back of his mind. Slowly, he started to remember things. Evan, was his name. That was Anthony, his best friend, his brother. And... he had gotten into a fight... With that little Russian filth of a half brother. That was what had landed him here. He was in Noatak, at the clinic. He nodded to himself as it trickled back, biting the inside of his lip thoughtfully. Tomislav... He glowered. If he ever saw that guy again he would - what would he do? He was too small to fight the guy. That had been revealed just... whenever the fight had happened. He didn't know.

Looking up at Ant, Evan's eyes went wide as he saw the gun in his friend's hand. "Ant!" Evan hissed, glancing nervously at the door. "Put that away before someone sees that!" He caught his breath as he put two and two together. The blood, the gun... "You shot someone, didn't you?" he forgot to keep his voice to a whisper and didn't change it. "You shot him, didn't you?" Well, maybe you won't have to do anything about that jerk now, Evan. Isn't that what you wanted? You were afraid you would have to stand up to him. He gulped. No! I didn't want him to die! I don't know what I wanted, but I don't care about that guy, I care about Ant. And he'll land himself in the slammer if they catch him! He pushed himself up on his elbows, forcing the arguing thoughts from his mind.

[Anty]

Anthony looked from Evan, to the gun. "Umm... " Evan wasn't supposed to see that. Evan wasn't supposed to know about that. He stuffed the hand gun back into his pocket. But what was he supposed to do? Tell him? You fool! No one was supposed to know! What if he tells? Then what?! Straight back to jail. Life sentence! the voice snarled in the back of his head. Is that what you want?

He bit the inside of his mouth till it bled. What was he supposed to tell Evan? "ActuallyIshottwopeople," all of his words ran together. He deserved it! He tried to kill you!" Anthony turned away from Evan and looked out the small window, seeing the scene in his mind over and over. But this time, Tomo died. How did he become so cruel?

[Waddle]

Two people?! Evan squeezed his eye shut, then stopped as pain shot through the other eye. He opened his eye and looked at his friend again, judging. He probably thinks you're gonna tell... Well, if he does, he must have forgotten all the crap we did almost a decade ago. He smiled, or tried to atleast. "That's my battle, Ant," he said quietly. "I don't want you getting hurt in my battles. You're too important to me." He paused. He wasn't feeling anything, and that wasn't normal. He was empty of emotion. Should he have been angry at Tomo, dismayed at what Ant did? Should he been feeling anything? He wasn't even feeling like his normal, happy self. No, he felt like he had gotten much, much older.

"Who was the other person?" His voice was quiet again. He didn't really care about the other person, he didn't care about either of them, really. In a last attempt to laugh or anything, he added, "Did ya track down that drunk redhead and blow her brains out?" He forced a chuckle, hoping it would cheer Ant up. Why was the world so crazy now? Why couldn't things be like a normal small town? Because yours, and Tomo's, father, is why. If it hadn't been for that man, none of this would have happened. But, then again, Ant might have killed himself all those years ago. Then again, again, that other person who was killed today wouldn't have died. Maybe the world would have been better off without the three of us...

[Anty]

He was right, it was his battles, and it had nothing to do with Anthony, he probably shouldn't get involved. But that wasn't going to stop him. He would go to the ends of the Earth for Evan, and just because he had no business there, well, that wasn't going to stop him. He smiled sympathetically at him, "If I hadn't found you, you'd probably be dead," the words hit him like the bullet had Tomo. It was true. "You can't stop me from protecting you, even if it means killing someone. But I promise you, Evan, that I won't get hurt," with his eyes he pleaded Evan to understand.

He swallowed, wishing he had a glass of cool water to soothe his dry throat. "I don't know... I just did," he whispered hoarsely. But then a loud laugh escaped him, it was the first one in.. a long time. He laughed until he could hardly stand, he placed his hands on the window sill to support him as his body shook with laughter.

[Waddle]

Evan laughed with his friend, glad that something had broken the tense depression that seemed to have settled into the small room. He put one hand to his chest and fell back onto the bed, laughing so hard he got stitches in his sides. He finally fell quiet, smiling, replaying Ant's words over and over in his head. "Thanks, bro," was all he could think to say at that moment. He probably would have been dead, if it weren't for Ant. Tomo was probably in some dark alleyway, dead. That was good. He thought. He hadn't wanted for Tomo to die, but maybe it was just the way things were supposed to have played out. Evan didn't believe in fate, but he knew that sometimes, things were just out of his hands.

"Let's just hope no one comes in that door," he said. "You're in enough trouble as it is, if anyone finds out." He was pretty sure that no one was close to the door. At least, he hoped. He looked around at all the medical supplies, the tables and windows and chairs. He shook his head. "I hate these kinds of places," he muttered to himself more than Anthony. "Way too clean, makes a man wanna mess it up."

[Anty]

Anthony nodded slowly. He had never been stationed at a hospital before, but he had stayed at the institution, which had the same feel, save it was this times ten. But there was no way he wanted Evan stationed in a place like this. His stomach growled loudly and it dawned on how hungry he actually was. Turns out causing mayhem is hard work. He turned back towards Evan and walked slowly towards the end of his bed, placing his hands on the frame. "I love you brother," he rose one brow, "But don't ever scare me like that again," he had a serious look on his face now.

"If someone comes in here they're screwed," he said in more of a joking manner. In one of the four corners there was a large white garbage can, Anthony approached it now. With one boot he kicked it over. It rattled around on the floor, needles and rubber gloves spilled all over the floor. "Well that's taken care of," he turned back to Evan, "Let's get outta here."

[Mothtoto.]

Tomo groaned as he fell to the asphalt with a thud, creating another abrasion beside his right eye. At least he was out in the open, so if someone happened to walk by they could take him to the local clinic, although what he really needed was the hospital. Tomo took note as he saw through his squinted and puffy eyes that Anthony found the bullet. He cursed quietly to himself, knowing that could be good evidence of what happened at the dumpster. Because Tomo doubted he would live long enough to tell the story.

When Anthony's cowboy boot met his face with the dull cracking of his nose, he felt an excruciating pain as his nose was pressed into his skull. He managed another groan in reply to the question. Tomo was barely conscious as Sanderson dragged him roughly behind the dumpster, though he could still feel a slight prickle as his face become raw and bloody on the left side. Tomo managed to sit halfway up with head lolling to the side when Sanderson stopped dragging him.

Tomo thought what he was going to say, instead of saying it because he didn't want to push luck, and he needed to save his energy for the long road to the small clinic. He just nodded a little in agreement, breathing laboriously. He waited for Anthony to leave him there, which he did because he was too ignorant to even knock unconscious. He heard him pause and laugh at the sight of Tomo, but he didn't care.

When Tomo was sure Anthony had gone, he made his way slowly, half crawling half dragging again, to the clinic. It took him about one long, agonizing hour, and he had to focus on staying in the world of the living the whole time. When got to the clinic he caused quite a ruckus; the receptionist screamed, ran away, and came back two minutes later with some heavy body lifting guys, who lifted him up off the floor onto a nice, soft gurney.

Tomo wasn't exactly conscious when they were operating on him, and he didn't know how long they were or what time it was. He just knew he woke up to a doctor shaking him awake saying something or another, but he couldn't understand what he was saying until, "-so we had to move you into a room with another patient, since we ran out of rooms, so we saw your brother, Evan, was at this clinic too, so we decided to move you to his room," the doctor finished with a nod and left Tomo in the little bed, surrounded with curtains for privacy.

Tomo reached for the pain-killers left on his bedside table in case he needed them, wincing with pain as he did so. As he was reaching over, he accidentally tumbled out of his bed and onto the floor, making the curtains collapse around him and his IV to be pulled out. He let out a scream of agony, which was muffled by the curtains tangled around his bandaged body.

[Waddle]

Evan smiled back at Anthony. "I won't if you don't scare me like that." Truth was, Evan was officially terrified for Anthony, what would happen if the truth was found out. But he was able to hide it by not thinking about it. They would get this straightened out, it would work out, no one would get thrown into the slammer or anything. Because Tomo was dead, no one would ever know who had killed him or that other person, and Evan wouldn't say a word about anything. He chuckled as Ant knocked over the trashcan and sat up.

Right about then, a doctor rushed into the room, and two other guys with a gurney followed. Evan squinted, trying to see who was in trouble, but couldn't for the curtains that were drawn around the bed they put the wounded guy on. He glanced questioningly at Anty, then watched the two gurney-carriers as they went outside. Hearing the doctor speak, he went pale as he tried to see through the curtains to the occupant of the bed. Oh crap in a hat. Evan glanced at Ant again and whispered, "If you're going to fight my battles, make sure you finish them." The doctor left. Evan blinked stupidly as Tomo fell out of bed, then smiled bitterly as his half brother screamed. Stupid Russian pig.

[Anty]

Anthony cursed for perhaps the thousandth time. They weren't supposed to be alive. If Evan had died, he would have been glad that Tomo had lived, letting him deal with the everyday reminder about the death of his half brother. Or if Evan had lived and Tomo had passed, then they would have nothing to worry over. But they were both still kicking... Anthony's face went white and he bit his lip, thinking of the very near future. He ran his left hand through his thick, black hair nervously, then bit the side of his finger, deep in thought.

Watching as the nurse picked up his mess, he cursed again. He had decided not a thing, his mind was a spinning mass of confusion. Moving over to Evan, he sat on the end of his bed, supporting himself by his hands. "I wanted to make him live with the fact that he had killed you. I wanted him to feel the shame of killing you for the rest of his days. I was sure you were dead," he turned his head to look at Evan. "Believe me, I've never been happier to have been wrong in my life." He tongued the sore he had recently made from biting his lip. You idiot. Why didn't you kill him? the voice snarled in his head. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. For even the very wise cannot see all ends, he told the voice, sighing.