Wednesday night to Thursday
The cabbie watched in the rear view mirror as an ebony black man literally fell into his cab. “You okay, mahn?”
Grim spat out the address at the cabbie in the colorful knit hat. “Get me there.”
“Ahkay, mahn.”
Grim doubled over, coughing, and took his ebony hand away from his mouth to see something that had been familiar over the last couple of hours – bright red blood. His lungs. The pain seared through him as he coughed but strangely enough he was getting used to it.
“Sure yah don’ want me t’ tayke yah to de hospitahl?”
“No! Just get me home!”
Grim knew he passed out between fits of coughing. He was nauseated during the drive. He barely kept it down. His heart leapt as he saw the apartment house, and thanked God that its entrance was on the first floor.
Grim couldn’t get the door open, so the cabbie got out and opened it for him. Then the cabbie gasped, jumping back, “Jesus, Mahry an’ Joseph!” Blood was all over his shirt from his wiping his hand on it – his own blood.
Grim slowly looked up at him. “I’m blacker than you, man,” he said with a grin, which ended up into a cough. “Get me to the door. I’ll pay –” More coughing.
“No worries, mahn,” he said, and helped Grim out. Grim winced in pain as the man got him onto the sidewalk and to the door. The man rang the bell. Grim fished in his pocket for money, but found none. “Wallet,” Grim moaned, leaning heavily on the man. “Back pocket.”
The man held him up and got the wallet out. “Take what you want, I don’t care.” Grim expected the man to clean him out.
The door opened, and Kay stood in the doorway. “Hello – oh!”
Grim fell into her arms. She staggered back under the weight of him. The man put Grim’s wallet back and hi-tailed it back to the cab. Kay supported him. “Who are you?”
“Grim,” he said, and coughed on her blue shirt, spraying drops of blood all over her shoulder.
She half-carried, half-dragged him into the house. “What’s going on? What happened?”
“Where’s Ben?”
“I don’t know, I haven’t seen him.” She started to direct him to the couch.
“No! Bed.” Kay looked at the stairs, thought it was an daunting task – but she’d do it.
It took them an hour to get to the top of the stairs. In between fits of coughing and blood, Grim told Kay it was a spell gone awry. Kay had to almost lift Grim’s legs to get him up the stairs. She wasn’t strong enough to carry him. It took another hour to get him into the bedroom, after he fell against walls screaming in agony as he hit them.
He collapsed onto the bed and howled in pain. She knew this part, as she’d helped other girls get out of this very position, of being bent over the bed with their legs hanging off. She was able to push him on and swing his legs onto the bed. He moaned in agony as she tried to be as gentle as she could to move him.
“Ben, where’s Ben?”
“I don’t know, Grim.”
“Call him.”
He watched her try. It hurt to breathe. And she was so bright, the lights were so bright. “Turn off lights,” he gasped out.
She did, and he could only see her by the light of her phone. “I keep getting his voice mail.”
He turned his face away from her, knowing it was dark in the room, but still he didn’t want her to see him cry. “Leave.” He closed his eyes, feeling tears leak through them. The latch on the door as she closed it sounded like a boom to him.
The next thing he knew, he awoke in the dark. He moved his hand along the soft blanket, hoping Ben would be there. He wasn’t.
He’s gone, just like all the others. He doesn’t care. He probably never did. You scared him off after taking out the Kid. You always do things to scare people off.
He wanted to control you, but you showed him your true power, and now you showed him you could control him, and he ran away. You could control Gesture, Conan, Lue, even Stefan. They were all afraid of you so they ran away.
You controlled them with kindness. Be kind, gentle, generous…and then ask favors. Always the ulterior motive. Always the thought of how you could use this person. Never altruistic. Never for the sheer goodness. Always for a boon. Except Mindstryker and then that homewrecking bitch shows up…
Now you have no magic, and now he doesn’t want want you because you’re weak. You took the fast track to power and knowledge and now you can’t do anything about your situation, oh great and powerful mage. Where are you without your demons that you gave your soul to?
“No more,” he whispered. He tried to sit up but couldn’t, and when he did the pain shot right through to his head, blinding him. He would try to make it to the library or the bathroom, where the poison was…
Words: 872
Inspiration: Continuing the Ravaging
Music: None
Comments: Poor Grim.