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"Greeting Cards"Written By: Kaeru Shisho Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Gundam Wing
or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: Yaoi, funeral practices, AU, fluff Pairings: 1+4, 1x2x1, 3+H, 5xH, 3x4, 6x9 Summary: Each chapter is based on Heero’s
greeting cards and Duo's mortuary. "Greeting Cards " Chapter 35 -- April Showers, Part 3 of 6 (o) Duo POV Standing outside with the ruined gate at my back, I watched as Heero aimed a flashlight into the interior of the crypt, illuminating rough-hewn stone steps leading straight down to a low-ceilinged entry. Three catacombs branched off into yawning black holes. "Down those paths we should find a numerous enclosed vaults." "Not too bad," I said. "I mean, there's no spiders, grinning gargoyles with glowing eyes, or seven-headed guard dogs." I'd been around Heero too long. His imagination was rubbing off on me. I grinned to prove I was joking to those serious types in the company. Wufei clicked his tongue and sighed. Zechs shook his head and rubbed his temples. "Is this a problem?" Duo asked. I looked to Heero for help. He pretended not to know me. Way to play it cool... in my moment of need... Wufei and Zechs discussed what Zechs should do while I huffed a little then turned back to business. Why was it Trowa could crack a joke and they'd laugh, but not at my smart-ass remarks? Maybe he had better timing? Maybe it was that dead-pan delivery? I lay out our tools. Some items would go into coverall pockets or be attached to belt loops, while others would remain in the backpacks. Maybe I was just too damn funny for their plan of existence. Heh, heh, yeah... "I'll walk the outside perimeter and check for any other doorways," Zechs said. "This would be easier to defend if I knew that road were the only one." "It is," Heero said, not that Zechs cared. Wufei let him go, then joined me and 'Ro just outside the crypt. "I might as well tell you what to look for," I began, strictly being all serious now. Wufei and Heero gave me their full attention. "It seems that DNA survives best and free from contamination in teeth and small bones. Hair is likely to be completely decayed, so don't count on finding that. So, if you find what you think is Leia's grave, collect two teeth, and in particular the canine teeth, because they are simple in shape and easily pulled out, and two metatarsals from the feet or metacarpals from the hands. Don't clean the samples in any way. Just store them in these little plastic containers. And in the ideal universe, we'll get them back to the cabin and freeze 'em ASAP." Wufei and Heero responded with matching clipped nods. "Understood," Wufei added. Now they were creeping me out. I traipsed closer to the cavity and stared into the darkness. Cold air rose from the opening. I was glad Trowa'd thought to bring our heavy-duty coveralls. I had forgotten how cold old caves could get. "Ah... just how cold does it get down there?" "Above freezing, around forty degrees," Heero said as he shrugged his shoulders and took the coveralls I was offering him. "The middle path leads under the shrine itself and, apparently, it goes further into the hill back there. It's the larger space, from what I remember." He zipped up his jumpsuit. "Then there are two outer passageways ending in the vaults with an external wall. One of these passages leads deeper underground and the other ends abruptly with most of the burials in some upper compartment." It was difficult to understand the layout. "Too bad you couldn't have printed us out an actual map or blueprint." He unzipped halfway and pulled out his sketchpad and penciled in a diagram. "Here's what it looks like." "Alternating vaults have an air vent leading up into the garden of the shrine. Some vaults have no external wall, as I said, like those under the shrine. Oddly, a small number of vaults, those in that upper passageway, were linked to the shrine's heating flues. I assume as a cheap substitute for putting in real air vents. You all right, Chang?" "Go on! I can take care of this!" I noticed then that the agent had caught the tip of his long, black ponytail in his zipper by trying to tuck it in first. While Wufei was untangling his hair from his zipper, we entered the central chamber. I examined the entrance to the one outer path sinking down into the lower crypt. "I'm having some real heavy déjà vu here." Crawling through the dry, dusty opening I could handle. I'd done something like that before. I was reminded of the day I'd lost my car keys. It had been late, after a concert, and I was walking with my singing-sensation and secret-lover, Solo, and his roadies out in the parking lot. Some klutz tripped and jostled my elbow, and my keys flew, like a car doesn't, out of my hand and onto the asphalt. Then a foot unintentionally kicked them down through a grating cover to an underground access. "Damn it all." I sloughed off my nice leather coat. "Here, hold this for me. I got to go down there to get my keys." Solo had his doubts, but then he always doubted me. "Pretty tight spot, Duo." He did help me remove the grate and watched me crawl head first into the darkness. Scrabbling on my belly in the dark, I choked on powdery dust, scraped my palms on sharp rocks, and slit my jeans from mid-thigh to my knee on a piece of glass, but I was nothing if not persistent. "Get up here or the guys say they're going without you!" One more frantic search in the dark and I found my keys. I felt good, like I'd really achieved something. "You reckless, bull-headed idiot." Solo had been so angry. "What if you'd gotten stuck?" "Well, I didn't and I really needed the keys a lot." I thought at the time that I'd been desperately brave. 'Course, Solo had never understood me. Not like Heero. Now I could tell the difference between infatuation and love. I loved Heero. Wow, I got a revelation before entering the bowels of hell! Wufei unloaded a few battery powered lanterns and placed them at the three main passageways. I wanted to go down that hole even less now. "You are sure you want to go in alone?" Heero asked me. I didn't even want to go in at all, but I'd taken on the task, hadn't I? "I'll be fine, but thanks for asking." Heero suddenly kissed my cheek. "I think you are the gutsiest man alive." Yeah, I felt all daring and courageous now, too, in the pursuit of the stranger's grave. I tested my gloves and looked down the black hole again. "I hope I don't knock myself unconscious on some outcropping I don't see." Heero tapped on my head. "Turn on your headlamp." I'd forgotten I was wearing a headlamp. Trowa had picked up a few of the headlamps designed for spelunking at the sporting goods store, and now I fully appreciated his forethought. "Gotta thank Trowa for getting these." "You can. You've got your walkie-talkie." "Right." "Down the rabbit hole for you. Don't test any mushrooms." I would never eat wild fungi. I would never find any in this place either, but I didn't bother trying to explain that. I just smiled like I knew what he was talking about and agreed. "Okay." I adjusted my face mask, gave my boyfriend a crisp salute, and flattened onto my belly. The light bounced off rock walls not over two feet high, then disappeared into a tunnel that steeply sloped downward. I waved one last time before crawling deeper down into the catacomb. As I nudged past the rock entry to the lower level, I could barely make out Heero's voice shouting a few encouraging words, then it faded away completely. All I could hear were the scraping sounds of my own making. It really made me wonder about myself. I know I didn't have to prove anything to Heero and I didn't have to do this for Wufei, so why was I risking my neck here? For Trowa? No... because I wanted to show off to Heero and Wufei, of course. What an idiot! I blamed it on the male hormones and inched forward. (o) Wufei pov When Maxwell was on his way, Yuy and I considered the approach up into upper crypt. The opening was no more than three feet high. "I would do it, Chang, but I do not think I would fit." "No, no... I don't think you'd be able to get your shoulders past the opening." "It makes you wonder how they got coffins in." The artist stared up at the opening. "I can drive in some of those pitons Trowa sent with us-- into the rock here...and here, so you can climb up, but I am having difficulty imagining you doing that." I certainly could climb! "Quit looking like a monkey doing math!" I shoved past him. "I'm the only one that can make it through that ferret hole. Just catapult me up there." Monkeys? Ferrets? What was it about this place that made me think of animals? Especially those animals? Now, bats would be more likely to encounter in a cave. I hated bats, yet, here I was about to fly like one to the wall. Reluctant to fling me to my doom, I suppose, the artist with the strength of a weight-lifter of twice his weight leaned over and made a stirrup with his hands. "Ready." He vaulted me up to a where I found a crack to grip and footholds. I had rock climbing training and I know I showed off a bit, but I could do it alone. I clung to the rock and shimmied over the lip and past the narrow aperture of the gap. I lay on the ledge to catch my breath before pausing to switch on my headlamp. When I slipped into the hole, I could see the downward slant of the tunnel leveling off ahead. I was slender enough to fit into the narrow slot and nimble enough to make the 90 degree angle turn, which brought me face to face with a line of wooden caskets. When my hand grazed the corner of one, the decaying wood splintered. The debris of decomposed coffin lining and other things I probably didn't want to think about poured over one arm. It was disgusting. "Shit!" With all my strength, I heaved myself past the restricted passage and into the chamber with only enough head room for me to stand stooped over. I turned on my walkie-talkie and reported to Yuy. "Chang, here. Over." My walkie-talkie crackled to life. "Yuy, speaking. What have you found? Over." "This place is revolting." I peeled back my breathing mask. "I'm in an upper tunnel and the coffins here look too old and jumbled together to belong to Leia Barton. You'd think she'd be in something regal. Of course, you'd think a lot of this should be different if whatever was going on wasn't illegal. Over." "No one cares about these people anymore," Heero replied. "I called you to say that I am moving on to the last room. Is there any news to relay? Over." "Duo is in the lower chamber and Zechs says it is all clear outside. He said that he will remain in position, waiting to hear from you. If neither of you finds anything then move in my direction, the last opening. Now, put your mask back on. Over." "As if I need to be reminded of that... Over." (o) Duo POV With headroom so limited, I had to be far closer to decomposed bodies than I liked. I groped about the coffins' detritus, looking for identification of any sort. The outer wooden coffins, cracking from desiccation, mostly revealed nothing, but occasionally I could locate inscribed breast-plates and end-plates. These 'plated' coffins grew in number as I moved further from the entrance. When I reached the end and still had found nothing of Leia's burial I was frustrated and tired of being in the confined space. "This is stupid!" just burst out of me in a fury of disappointment. I kicked at the last burial pile. Even from my awkward angle, hunched over, my strike hit the side of a coffin, showering me in pulverized debris. Now my shoe was lodged inside a coffin. "Ah, fuck!" With a hard wrench to one side, the aged wood splintered, giving way, and my foot freed suddenly. Too suddenly. My weight shifted onto my unsupported elbows and I couldn't recover my balance. Down I went, sliding backwards into a darkened side chute. "Gah!" I yelped, followed by other nonsensical noises like, "Oof!" and "ugh!" until I was brought up shortly when my head and shoulders collided with a stout board. (o) Wufei pov I was close to regretting my rash decision to search the upper crypt. As I moved upwards, conditions worsened dramatically. This vault was linked to the lower vault Maxwell was investigating via the heating ducts. Water had leaked through the duct work and the warmth had encouraged bacteria and decomposition. I could hear water dripping in several places. God-awful stink passed through the mask. What good what this mask, then, I wondered? I had thought it would have been drier in the higher vaults. It was not. I hoped Maxwell wasn't drowning. As I crawled along the ghastly, wet passage, my hands slipped out from under me again and again. One time I scrabbled desperately to stay upright, but lost my balance and landed chest-first onto the hard, slimy floor of the tunnel. "Ugh!" I hated slimy, wet things, and I was fast becoming one, coated in mud and... I wiped the revolting muck off my mouth with a sleeve. My hands shook. "Disgusting!" I had to remind myself why I was there and try not to dwell on the horrendous surroundings. My subconscious was indelibly imprinted with an intense, profound, and unreasonable fear of slimy creatures. I had to get a grip. I think my fear of the others discovering my weakness overcome the revulsion. I reminded myself aloud, "I have no problem with noodles, especially in the dinner form." Hearing my voice sure and strong, no wavering there, gave me courage. I rose onto my hands and knees and crawled resolutely. I headed toward a stack of coffins, which waited like a portent of evil at the end of the passageway. "Nothing, nothing, and more nothing. Just a pile of long-forgotten rubbish. No names, hardly anything but rotting boards. That bunch is done. Bunch like bananas. Move on. What's next? Ah, more packed like pickles... Pickled in brine and jammed in a box, then stacked in piles and stuffed...like olives." My stomach growled. No, it was my communication device! "Chang? Merquise here. Anything of interest to report? Over." I punched the on button to my walkie-talkie and barked into the mouthpiece. "Don't bother me now. I'm shitty, and that's the best account of my progress. Over and out!" I slammed the instrument off. Surrounded by the gruesome reminders of death-- the dank charnel smell and trails of dark shining goo pooling on the floor-- threatened to drive me into a panic. To avoid it, I practiced my martial arts mental concentration tricks-- and ended up thinking about food again. (o) Quatre's POV I remained with Hilde at the cabin, what Wufei had called the "base station," and watched at the door as Trowa drove the others into the chilling blackness. "I wish he was staying here and not leaving to guard that direful tomb entrance." "Direful?" Words like that sent my right eyebrow to twitching. "You've been watching too many horror flicks lately, Hilde." "But it did look forbidding, didn't it?" she said, folding her arms around her. "I'm sure they will be all right. No one knows we're here, we're well armed, just in case, and they have got us here to make certain no one comes up the road." "Yeah." Now what was her problem? Women were worse worrywarts than me, and that is saying something! "Well, it's cold and..." she hesitated to say what was on her mind, giving me furtive little looks. "And?" "The cabin will feel a whole lot safer with him back here, don't you think?" Oh, yes. Trowa oozed confidence. When he held that rifle of his, he looked formidable. I imagined him standing in the ring, naked to the waist, wielding a whip, controlling the snarling cats circling him, maybe straddling one. What a hunk! I was steaming up. "Well, I think so!" she said, raising her voice. "We must be brave and do our part," I said. I must have sounded rather patronizing because she gave me a slit-eyed glare. "Of course, but there's no rule that says we shouldn't make ourselves comfortable," I tried again. "None at all!" She smiled again. I'll make hot cocoa." Over the past year, Hilde and I had spent many pleasant moments together in the coffee shop after our respective boyfriends had gone to work. I learned a lot about Duo from her, among other things. I could see how Duo and Hilde both shared a common "L2" slang and slant on life, and made it obvious how wrong he and I had been for each other. So, having had a few intimate conversations in the past helped us ease into a more relaxed atmosphere in the cabin. "Quat? I don't see where you can turn up the fire." "Let me help." I crawled about, examining the hearth as well. "The one in my apartment has a little brass key in the floor where you turn up the gas. I don't see a thing." "Mine, too!" "I should have paid more attention to what Trowa was doing when we arrived," I lamented. "Give him a call him and ask," she said. "You know he'd love to hear your voice." "Oh, I shouldn't disturb him. He's probably driving back now. Just shove the water pot over those coals and leave it." I tries blowing on the glowing coals and got a face full of ashes for my effort. A bit later, with a lukewarm mug of watery chocolate drink in our hands, we huddled as close to the hearth as possible. Pop! Spit! And little sparky bits shot out and we inched back a ways. She said, "I hope we don't actually have to use those guns." "Me, too. I'm going to be optimistic and say they'll find Leia Barton's grave, get what they need, and be back in no time so, then we can leave and never come back to this island again." "Right," she agreed and shot me a grin. "They can't get back soon enough for me. We really aren't the camping sort, are we?" I laughed. "No." When her walkie-talkie spouted static, I think we both jumped a foot. "Hilde here. Things are lovely. Bye." She mouthed, "Trowa." I was ready for it when my walkie-talkie buzzed next. "Trowa! Are you on your way back?" "I've been reassigned," he told me. "So you'll be staying out there?" I couldn't help the whine in my voice. "Yeah, that's right. I'm going to be on lookout at the shrine." "Watching the over the garden of earthly delights?" He chuckled at my reference to a lovely evening we'd spent drooling through pages of my erotic painting book collection. "Yeah, the garden watch." "I miss you here." "Miss you, too. Over, love." "Over...love." I slipped the device onto my belt hook and sighed. "Trowa's not coming?" "Not here directly. Wufei has him on guard duty between Zechs and this cabin." "Wufei knows how to make use of talented people, and Trowa is talented, I'll bet." Of course, that made me blush like crazy. "Yes." "You know, your sweetie and I danced together—that had to be... back more than a year ago. You know that story, I know. All the girls wanted to get him to talk, but he wasn't outgoing at all. The only reason he danced with me was because he thought I'd come with Duo and therefore was "safe", as in "not out to get him." I mean, the guy looked at girls, but never dated any that I know of." "He told me he thought he might have dated girls, but he wasn't sure. It's never mattered to me. I've dated girls, although the desire for intimacy never happened." She brushed that off. "Most gay guys date girls because it's what's expected of them. So, are you attracted to certain types?" "Um..." Hot guy types. "Heh, heh! I'm just asking 'cause see this one time I caught Wufei looking at this pretty girl, okay? I told him to stop, because I shoulda been enough for him. He said it wasn't at all the same. That guys are hardwired to look at attractive girls. They couldn't help it, but that self-control kept them from turning into idiotic animals. My words, not his." "I'm sure!" I chuckled along with her. "Well, I guess my wiring is switched, because I look at...attractive men—but just look! Now that I have Trowa, I'm quite satisfied." "And Trowa, too! I've seen him watching you like a hawk his next meal." I smiled. She punched my arm and giggled. "Don't look so smug, buster." "Well, you appear happy with Wufei." "I am." "So we can both gloat." "Yeah." She grinned. "I brought a deck of cards. Want to play?" "Oh, that would be nice. And I'll give Trowa that call while you deal." I pulled out my walkie-talkie and rang him up. "Hi! It's Quatre! How are you?" The thing crackled like he was climbing out of a paper bag to talk to me. "Hey, Quat. Nice to hear your voice. I'm okay. It's quiet, cold, dark, boring as a frozen-over hell." "Hilde and I are going to play cards. It's all quiet here, too. I guess that's a good thing, right?" "Yeah, better quiet than the opposite." "Oh, what I wanted to ask was how do we turn up the fire?" "Turn up...?" Trowa laughed a loud, loud laugh. He laughed long and hard. I'd said something very, very silly, I guessed. "I'm pleased to have brought you so much mirth tonight, Mr. Barton." He calmed down. "You have to keep feeding it fresh fuel to burn." Well, that made sense, and when I understood that the pile of wood outside the cabin was the fuel and after he gave me a few tips as to how to "feed" the fire, I was all set. We settled into some semblance of comfortable conversation and entertainment. I don't know at what point we both got fed up with the cold, but we started packing the open boxes and folding away the sleeping bags without a word. No matter what, we weren't going to sleep in that place. When the others were done we wanted to be ready to leave instantly. It was too quiet. We remained on edge, waiting for a call or the sound of a vehicle. It was, however, another kind of sound that broke the silence of the night. (o) Trowa's POV After Quatre's unexpected and hilarious call, nothing interrupted my solitude. I paced the wall like a caged cheetah. I stepped around the ruined gate, padded into the dreary shrine garden, and approached the crypt entry where sometimes I met up with Zechs doing his rounds. I knew every shadow, rock, and the names of a few of the stars overhead. Nothing moved. I was on full alert for any deviation in the dead stillness. I swept my flashlight over the formless mounds. Light glinted off stagnate water and floating grey-green sludge pooled in a chiseled, marble fountain. Colorless tiles, gray pavers, blanched skeletons of dried up vegetation, everything washed out, dulled by the artificial illumination. I wished for something-- a dry leaf blowing across my path, a mouse scavenging, a moth attracted to my flashlight-- something living and breathing, or at least animated. Nothing stirred. Not even a breeze. Sighing with disgust was all I could do, before I turned and walked back along the path I'd just walked. Well, not all. I could start talking to myself, so I did. "Hope they find what they're looking for before I start banging my head against the wall." My thoughts wandered back to Quatre. Now he was warm, breathing, and most assuredly alive. He wondered how he and Hilde were getting along for the hundredth time. Rather than revert to more sole conversation, I dragged out the walkie-talkie to find out. "Yo, Trowa here. How are you doing? Over." "Um...not bad," came my lover's voice. He tried to sound convincing, but even through the crackling distortion of the communication device I could tell his voice shook. "What's that I hear in the background?" I held the earpiece firmly to my head and cover my other ear. I heard the sound again. A keen moaning, inhuman and undulating eerily, distinctively- "Wolves! Are there wolves around you?" "Yes, I think so. We heard them start up a few minutes ago. They've been getting closer. Hilde is at one window and I'm at the other- with rifles. I-I don't think they can break in. We'll be okay. It's better if we can keep them here than scare them off your way, right?" "Let me call Wufei. Over." I held the walkie-talkie and stared at it as it buzzed ineffectually. "Pick up, Chang!" I suddenly felt very alone. And very uneasy. I was needed somewhere, and it was not here, in this lifeless- The walkie-talkie crackled back to life, with Quatre's voice breaking through. "Trowa! Trowa! Come in!" My heart missed a beat. "What?! I'm here!" "They're at the door and scratching! One of the windows is cracked! Should we shoot them?" "Only if the window breaks! Hold on! I'm coming," I barked in fury at the animals and switched over to another line immediately. "Zechs! Damn you, what's wrong with your signal?" I punched at the device. "Duo! Wolves at the cabin. I'm going to help, then come back." I finished my report, then, before I heard a reply, snapped off the walkie-talkie, and stashed it into my pack as I pulled out the handgun and stashed them both on the seat beside me in arms' reach. I was hard-pressed to think about damaging the van as I barreled recklessly back to the cabin. I pushed back bloody images of ferocious wolves tearing Quatre limb from limb and drove hell-bent on not letting that happen. In the light of the bright beams I could make out a pack of at least a dozen savage beasts clawing at the door and bounding over one another to get at Quatre and Hilde inside. I roared up in a cloud of dust and slammed on the brakes; the screeching of brakes caught their attention. I honked the horn repeatedly and drove into the midst of the pack, nudging them back and away. I hadn't the heart to run them over- not yet. I would, if I had no choice, but that wouldn't necessarily do anything but maim some innocent animals and ruin the van. The smaller ones took off howling, disappointed to have this bigger, noisier, more determined beast interrupt their good time and pushing them off their prey. I grabbed the handgun and shot twice over the heads of a tightly knit group of wolves, which had been boldly springing at a window. Those dispersed into the darkness, wailing their despair as well. There remained two: the alpha male and female. "I'd hate to break up a mated pair, so git!" I bellowed in warning. The female laid back her ears and snarled in defiance, while the male backed her up with threatening growls. They had no intention of giving up easily. Their discipline impressed me. They stood their ground, eyes trained on my every movement inside the van, not fooled, or at least undaunted, by the mechanical beast without. "Damn you for making this hard," I shouted as I slipped the gun into my pants and reached for a different weapon. I watched two pairs of ears twitch as I opened the van door and stepped out hoisting the fire-poker Heero had used to break into the shrine. "Go!" I roared, jumping forward hoping to startle the wolves into action. And move they did, but it wasn't in the direction I'd reckoned. The female moved faster than I'd thought possible, launching herself at my throat, while the male circled around to my back. "Stupid-!" How stupid could I have been to have gotten myself in a trap like that? I was suddenly glad that Chang wasn't here to see what I'd gotten tangled up with. For some reason, I imagined receiving a condescending scolding from the Preventers agent—"Wolves can smell fear"-- as Rover and his pack of mates take me down. I whirled around the iron rod, smashing it into the attacking wolf's head. The animal howled in agony, rolling out of the way, but quickly regained her feet, blood dripping from her ear. My shoulders and arms ached with the effort, but I had no time to keep an eye on her. Behind me, the scuffling of paws was the only warning I had as the male pushed off from the ground. I spun to meet the oncoming wolf, having the forethought to hold the poker point-forward as the massive weight pounded into me. The poker caught in something, nearly wrenching from my grip and sending pain shooting up my arm and down through my chest. I scarcely slipped to the side, avoiding the butt-end of the iron rod as the weight of the animal flattened me onto the hard earth. Pinned above me was the wolf, writhing in agony around the poker, which had pierced through its rib cage and out its back. Flashing teeth and claws slashed in the air missing me by fractions of inches I wished were more. I had to move! I gathered super-human strength from a rush of adrenaline and shoved the hundred-plus-pound animal off my chest and staggered to my feet. My shoulder throbbed and lights burst behind my eyes with the shooting pain. I nearly fell straight back down. "What did I do to my shoulder now?" "Watch out!" I heard the cry of alarm and swept my long, sweat-soaked bangs away from my eyes, but only in time to see a shadow flicker. I managed to rotate my body to the side, swearing loudly for ignoring the injured female. This time, my left arm exploded in pain as sharp claws ripped my jacket, tearing through the cloth like wet tissue and hooking into my flesh. I thought for sure I was a goner. A loud blast shot through the cacophony of noise. I cracked open one eye in time to see Quatre drop a smoking rifle. Hilde was laying down cover for him, so I guessed the other wolves were creeping back. "Trowa! You're hurt!" I was, but I was alive, and more shocked by his protecting me than by the injury. Next time I opened my eyes, I could see a hunk of blonde hair. He was gripping me under the arms and Hilde had my feet, hauling me into the cabin. God, that hurt! For the next half hour or so, they set about washing and tending my wounds. I gulped down a few pain killers and gingerly tested the wrapped arm, hissing with pain. "The wolves aren't out there now. You scared them off, but you scared me to death dancing around with them," my boyfriend told me. "Wasn't dancing--" I insisted. He hugged me carefully and kissed my head. My lips were just fine, but he seemed to think I was too fragile to excite. "You have to keep it still!" Hilde insisted. "You'll get it to bleeding again. There's a puncture wound that should stitched, but I've taped it really good—if you don't move." "Hilde, why don't you use this sling to wrap his arm to his chest so he can't use it?" "I don't think I can use it, sling or not," I said. "You'll try to. I know you." Quatre gave me a knowing look, one I hated because he was right. "Your shoulder is not right. I think it's out of joint so this will keep that fixed in place until we can get you to a hospital." "Thanks," I muttered, gritting my teeth against another wave of pain. I really was thankful for this the girl's take-charge attitude under stress. "You make a great nurse." "You should lie down and rest," Hilde went on, buoyed up by my encouragement, I guess. "We'll call that Shari agent and have her arrange for transport off this damned island." "No, that would endanger everyone else in that crypt," I told her. "Then wrap up in a sleeping bag over by the fire and stay warm," she said. "But we can't stay here," Quatre said. "It is far too dangerous. "I'm not going to be a sitting duck dinner for another pack of wolves! Let's just take the van back to the others and let them know what's happening. Trowa will be far more comfortable stretched out in the heated van." "Yeah, but..." I muttered. Hilde rested her hands on her hips. "I sure would be. Okay. I'll start loading the van with important supplies." I sat up, leaning into Quatre's arms. "That will take too long. The wolves will be back soon." I didn't know if they were out there right then or not, but I wasn't about to risk our lives over some supplies. "While we were waiting here, we did some packing." Hilde and Quatre looked at me. I'd probably said something, but I don't remember what. "You think we were having a tea party here?" she scoffed. "It will only take me a minute to finish and load everything into the van. We might as well all wait at that shrine as here. At least we'll be together, if not safer." "You're already looking better." Quatre wiped off the trickle of sweat running down my temple, then leaned closer and kissed me softly. "Yeah, he looks fine," Hilde announced. I thought of the quiescent fountain at the shrine, the eerie stillness broken by only my footfalls. It beat wolf-pack central. "Probably right." I could walk fine- stiff, but fine. Quatre held off a tight knot of curious young wolves with a couple shots, while I used my good arm and switched on the overhead beams, started the engine, threw it into gear. Quatre was last to hop in before we tore off down the road to the shrine. I steered with my right hand, while my left remained bent at the elbow and tightly bound to my chest. A weak crackling noise followed by a buzz came from under my jacket. "Is that your walkie-talkie?" Quatre asked. Without a free hand, I couldn't answer it. "Yeah, but forget it." "I could call Zechs, maybe on mine." "I'm driving as fast as I can. We'll be there in a minute, then I'll just go see them. There, it shut off on its own. I called them when I left my post. Wufei's probably just checking back. Maybe they found the burial."
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