Healing Hearts

Healing Hearts (Part 3)

Heero raced into the hospital lobby immediately, hitting the elevator buttons incessantly. But none of the elevators was available at the ground floor. He was getting uptight.

“K’so!” he cursed in frustration. Abandoning the elevators, he hit the stairs instead with Damon following close behind. Anxious footsteps echoed through the empty stairways.

First floor, second floor, third floor…..

After the fifth floor, Damon was slowly lagging behind. He grabbed onto the banister for support, panting heavily. He looked up to see Heero reaching the seventh floor. He was amazed by this Japanese boy’s stamina but the rooftop was at the fifteenth floor. Will Heero reach there in time? Will Duo…….

/ NO! Duo will be fine, Heero will save him. He will be all right. /

Pushing all the unwelcome thoughts out of his mind, Damon forced himself to scale up the long flight of stairs again. “Don’t do anything rash Duo, please don’t. Just hang on, we are coming.”

Heero ran up the stairs two steps at a time, hoping to reach the rooftop as soon as possible. The same agonizing thoughts were running through his mind but he tried not to think of them. His objective now was to save his beloved Duo.

/ Duo, don’t jump. I’m coming for you. /

Suddenly, it seemed to take forever to reach the top. The flight of stairs seemed to be getting longer and endless. Gritting his teeth, he pushed himself to the limit and continued to race up the stairs despite the fatigue that was trying to wear him down.

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Reaching the rooftop, Heero stumbled onto the scene of a very emotional Duo and a group of doctors and nurses. His charming lover was sitting at the edge of the building, shaking. His eyes looked wild and frenzy, his long hair was loose from the braid and was flowing around his shoulders like a piece of cloak blown by the wind. At other times, Heero would be awestruck by this enchanting sight but right now, his only wish was to get Duo away from that dangerous spot.

The doctors and nurses were coaxing him, trying to get him to the safe side. As they approached him, Duo suddenly pulled out a small fruit knife, waving it around wildly, screaming, “Go away! Don’t hurt me, go away!”

Heero’s eyes widened with fear at the sight of the flashing blade. Damon who finally made it to the top was shocked as the frantic boy continued to scream and wave the knife around threateningly. Still panting and gasping to catch his breath, Damon pleaded,

“Du…Duo…be careful with knife! Don’t hurt yourself!”

He wanted to run forward to save his friend but Heero pulled him back. Duo was pointing the knife at them menacingly, slashing into the wind repeatedly. In his confused state of mind, he could no longer recognize his friend or his loved one. All he saw was visions of his attackers. Every attempt to save him was being interpreted as an attack by his distressed mind.

All of a sudden, Duo began to cry piteously, wrapping his arms around his shivering body. He was rocking back and forth.

“Don’t hurt me…don’t hurt me,” he kept muttering.

No one dared to go forward, fearing that the boy will get agitated again. Noticing that Duo seemed to be lost in his own thoughts, Heero tried to draw up a plan on how to get him down. If they couldn’t approach him directly, he would have to seize him unawares.

“Distract him,” Heero whispered to Damon who was standing beside him.

“What…what should I do?”

“Talking to him, do something, anything. Just try to divert his attention,” he instructed.

Damon nodded. Running a sweaty hand through his auburn hair, he tried to think of a topic.

“Duo…Duo? Look at me. It’s me, Damon.”

Duo lifted his listless eyes to him. They looked so lost and empty.

“You still remember the times when……”

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Meanwhile, Heero sneaked around to the other side of the building, away from Duo’s view. He came up behind the boy, standing a few feet away from him.

One of the nurses gasped. Heero quickly gestured to her to keep quiet.

Damon continued to talk to Duo but he kept a focusing eye on Heero who was slowly moving towards his friend from behind.

Suddenly the Japanese boy sprang forward, grabbing the unsuspecting boy tightly. Alarmed, Duo screamed and put up a fierce struggle. Damon and the two doctors rushed forward to hold him down but they were wary of the knife in his hand.

He kept screaming and struggling but Heero refused to let go. Duo leaned down and bit his arm, sinking his teeth deep into the flesh.

Heero cried out and momentarily loosen his hold on Duo. The panic-stricken boy quickly pushed him away. In the scuffle, the knife slashed at Heero’s right palm.

“Oh my goodness!” Damon exclaimed, clutching Heero’s profusely bleeding hand.

Everyone’s attention was turned to the injured Heero. No one noticed Duo dropping the bloodstained knife onto the ground. He was staring at his own hands with Heero’s blood on them.

“Blood……blood…..”

He let out a bloodcurdling scream and went over the building.

“DUO!”

Heero pushed the doctors away and ran forward. He saw Duo hanging at the edge of the building, one of his hands holding onto the gas pipe.

Grabbing his beloved’s wrist, Heero attempted to pull him up. The others tried to help too.

“Give us your other hand. We will pull you up,” one of the doctors and Damon yelled together.

However, the boy was not listening at all. He just went limped.

“Duo, grab hold of my hand and don’t let go!” Heero shouted.

But Duo was not making any effort to hold on at all. He had let go of his hold on the gas pipe. Heero’s blood-slicked hand began to slip. Alarmed, he tried to tighten his grip.

“Don’t let go, Duo! Don’t let go!”

Screams and shouts can be heard from the spectators below. The wind was blowing; Duo’s limped body was swaying like a piece of dried leaf. Heero’s hand that was grabbing at Duo’s wrist began to slip away again.

Suddenly, he lost his hold on Duo and the boy went plunging down.

~~~ End Of Part 3 ~~~