Damaged Goods Chapter 5: Q & A

Damaged Goods - Chapter 5: Q & A

-~-~-~-~-~-(30 hours since waking up)-~-~-~-~-~-

>You’ve never been a big fan of hospitals
>The cold rooms, uncomfortable beds, lousy food

>”Mmm…”

>The coughing, hacking, that sickeningly sterile smell
>It was almost unbearable…

>*Yawn*
>”Morning, Anon…” Anna groaned, snuggling up closer, burying her face into your neck

>Almost

“Morning.” you returned, fatigue weighing heavy on your voice

>It had been barely over a day since you woke from your short coma, although to you it had felt like you hadn’t gotten any rest at all
>The fact that you weren’t able to sleep during the night didn’t help either

>Although the damage was localized to your right upper thigh, the massive blood loss caused some complications
>Your entire body ached, as if you had done a full body workout nonstop for a week
>You still had full mobility thankfully, but doing anything was far more labor intensive
>This is what you always imagined being an old man felt like

>Then there were the headaches; dull, achey pulses shooting through your head in seemingly random intervals, making it impossible to get any meaningful rest
>The painkillers weren’t doing much, and the doctors were afraid your liver wouldn’t be able to handle anything stronger with all of the “adjusting” since your entire blood supply had essentially been replaced
>You swear you heard them mention something about seizures as well…

>Running one hand up your chest, Anna stretches, letting out a silent yawn
>Her fingers run through your hair

>”Were you able to get any rest?” she cooed, continuing to twirl her fingers through your bed head
“Not really.”
>Anna’s only reply was a muffled groan as she buried her face back into your chest

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>Since arriving under the guise of being your fiancée, Anna hadn't left your side, only stepping back when the nurse's had to change IV bags or take blood samples
>The night nurses always voiced their disapproval of Anna sharing the tiny bed with you, saying she was risking tearing open the delicate stitching keeping your Femoral together, but they knew nothing they said would stop her

>She had been playing the part of fiancée rather well, even if she did tend to oversell it at times
>Nobody seemed to question your relationship at least
>Still, even given the current circumstances, Anna did seem to be acting a bit odd; her fashion choice wasn’t exactly helping either

>It was strange enough seeing her wearing capri jeans and sandals; even Anna had some sense of what “normal” fashion was, but for whatever reason she had chosen to wear that old gray hoodie
>You hadn’t seen that old thing in years, let alone worn it, yet she had it zipped all the way up to her neck
>Why would she even have bothered to grab that? It was still Summer after all…

>Still, it wasn’t just the hoodie that was strange
>When asking about the rest of the girls, she kept her answers rather short, trying to change the subject at the first chance she had
>Hell, asking about Sophie only caused her to close up almost completely, her only response being, “she is safe”, whatever the Hell that meant…

>You didn’t have the energy to worry, or think about what had happened at the range, as strange as all this was. All you truly wanted right now was some rest
>That was easier said than done
>Hopefully Anna, or the rest of the girls for that matter weren’t blaming Sophia for what happened...

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>To be honest, you don’t think you are entirely sure what happened...
>Sophie had been doing fine, putting up dime sized groups like it was nothing
>Hell, you had never been so accurate with a handgun before
>Until those officers showed up
>You knew she was going to have an issue given her past… well, what little you knew about her past
>But she insisted on going on

“...”

>Damn it… you’re the owner, YOU should have followed you gut and stopped shooting when her flinching began
>Maybe if you would have just-

>”Mr. Kneemose?” came a voice from the doorway

>It was Jen, the nurse who had been working morning shifts since you had arrived
>At hearing her voice, Annabelle slid her legs over the side of the bed, slumping lazily into the guest chair next to it, rubbing the sleep from her eyes
>You swear you heard Jen let out a slight “aww” at the sight

>”Ah, good, you’re already awake.” she said cheerily
“Easy enough to be awake when you never fell asleep.” you say, coming off a bit harsh as your attempt at sarcasm fails
>”Oh I’m sorry to hear that dear…” she started. “This probably won’t help your mood, but there is an officer here who would like to speak with you. He has been waiting in the lobby for a few hours and is getting rather… persistent.”
>That definitely seemed to catch Anna’s attention, seeing as how she now staring intently at the nurse

“Go ahead and send him in… let's just get this over with”

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>No more than 6 hours after waking from your coma did the officer want to speak with you
>Luckily the medical staff wasn’t having any of it, insisting that he wait until you have had ample time to rest up
>Honestly, you don’t think it would have made much difference

>”H-hey, Anon?” Anna said quietly
“Hmm?”
>”...”
“Anna?” you say, looking over to her
>Her gaze was fixed on the floor as she nervously fiddled with the drawstring on the old hoodie
>”I…-”

>”Mr. Kneemose, good to see you’re still among the living.” the uniformed officer said, inviting himself into the room. “Good to see you again as well… err, Anna was it?”

>She never mentioned anything about police...

>”Good to see you.” she said plainly, refusing eye contact with the officer
>Or even you for that matter

“...”

>What had her so nervous all of a sudden?

>”So, Mr. Kneemose.” he began, pulling up the other guest chair to the foot of the bed
“Anon is fine; calling me “Mr. makes me feel like an old man”
>”Anon it is. I was hoping you could answer a few questions.”
“Regarding…?”
>”Your accident, of course.” he said quite frankly. “I was hoping to get a few facts straightened out so that we can better figure out what actions need to be taken.”
“Actions-?”

>A pit formed deep down in your gut as the realization fell upon you
>They were suspicious of Sophie...

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>Police confiscation of dangerous or unstable Geists have happened before, although it never took place without having a warrant, or very solid evidence of the instability
>Once taken, they were usually disassembled and sent back to their respective factories for reconstruction, returning with completely changed personalities
>But in cases where serious injury or death occurred, and sufficient evidence has been brought to light, they were destroyed by the state

>More damage was typically done to the manufacturer's reputation than anything else
>The most high profile case in recent history being hostage gone south when a police marksman claimed his Savage rifle pulled directly over a poor woman's head just as the trigger broke
>Savage strongly contested this, but in the end, the Geist ended up admitting to it, stating, “I thought it would be funny.”
>It sure lived up to the company name...

>Still, what would they have that would make them so suspicious of Sophie?
>Did Anna say something to them…?

>”Yes, actions. For the safety of all parties involved.”

>You can’t take that risk

“Of course, ask away, officer.” you said, wearing your best poker face

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>”Let’s just make this as easy as possible.” he said, a bit of cockiness staining his tone. “Tell me what happened Saturday afternoon at the pistol bay.”

>Better start thinking quick, Anon

“Well… it was pretty much like any other day at the range. I had just loaded he- it up and started doing a bit of plinki-”
>”Have you had any issues with this Geist in the past, Anon?” Officer Kennedy said, interrupting you
“It was actually my first time with the Beretta at the range.”

>He scribbles for a moment on his notepad

>”Continue.”
“Anyway, I had just started doing a little plinking when…”

>You were drawing a blank
>Desperately you search your foggy mind for a line to throw out, but you were coming back with nothing

>”Having a bit of trouble remembering? We have security footage from the range if you needed a refresher.”

>Fuck.
>He obviously saw the wild flinching
>How were you going to possibly explain your way out of a video…?

“Uhh…”

>Wait…
>Idea

“Heh, right. Sorry, this whole situation is just a bit embarrassing.”

>You cleared your throat and started over

“I had just started doing a little plinking when… this damn wasp started swarming around me.”

>An awkward silence fell over the room

>”A… wasp?” Officer Kennedy said in disbelief

>Out of the corner of your eye, you could see Anna had frozen in place

“Yes… a wasp.” you replied, laying on the humility. “Like I said, it's all a bit embarrassing.”

>The officer shifted in his seat, obviously annoyed as he reluctantly scribbled down another note

>”Keep going.”

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“Right. So, this winged bastard keeps coming at me, and, as much as I hate to admit it, I took a few swings at it with the Beretta still in hand.”

>At this point the officer had stopped taking notes, staring at you with glazed over eyes

“Well I must’ve really pissed this thing off, cause it came back and flew right down my shirt! In a panic I tried swatting at the thing through my shirt and, well…” you say, motioning to your bandaged thigh

>The exhausted looking officer only stares before letting out a long sigh

>”So, let me get this straight… You are saying that you managed to shoot yourself in the thigh, severing your Femoral, because you were trying to swat a wasp which just happened to fly down your shirt as you were shooting?”
“Yes.”
>”And this is the official statement you want to give us…?”
“Just telling you the truth, officer.”

>He rubs the bridge of his nose, taking a deep breath

>”Well, this was productive....” he said, standing up. “Mr. Kneemose, I hope this all was, indeed, an accident, for the safety and sake of everyone involved.”
“As I said officer… it was all just a tragic, embarrassing misunderstanding.”

>”Goodluck, Mr. Kneemose.” he mumbles as he heads for the door
>“Oh, actually, before I go.” he says, reaching into his back pocket. “It sounds like you could use this.”

>He hands you a small card; a URL on it for a free download of the “Geists for Idiots” book is printed on it

“T-thanks, officer…”

>You sat there in silence for a few minutes after he left, the pounding in your head slowly getting worse and worse
>On one hand, you were relieved that had worked out so well, even though you knew he didn’t believe a word of it
>On the other though…

>”...”
>Anna’s silence spoke volumes
“…”

>You knew there was no way in Hell she bought that either

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>Yet she just sat there, fiddling with the drawstring on the hoodie yet again; staring off into the distance
>What is going on in the head of hers… she obviously wasn’t going to buy the crap you fed the cop
>Did she tell him something already?
>Did your blatant lie just make something worse for her?
>Was she thinking about what you said at all, or was her mind elsewhere?
>...was it something she wasn’t telling you?

>Whatever it was, it is consuming her

“...”

>Maybe you should start with what you think happened…

“Hey, Ann-”
>”Anon?” Anna interrupted
“Yes…?”
>”What's the first thing you want me to make for you when you get out of here?” she asked in an overly cheery tone. “I’m sure you’re going to want some real food after being stuck in here.”
“What…?”

>Anna was now looking over at you, wearing her signature smile. Her hands folded in her lap
>No trace left on her that she looked ready to explode just moments ago
>Like the conversation with Officer Kennedy never happened

>“For dinner! The food in here has all looked pretty lousy.”
>You just stared at her in disbelief
>What was with the sudden mood swings?

>Just…
>”I was thinking about making a nice stir fry.”
>Just...
>”Maybe chicken for the protein? Oh, or bee-”

“What is going on!?” you blurt out, nearly yelling
>”Hmm? What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean! You’ve been acting weird this entire time
>”Oh, how so?” she said in the most innocent tone imaginable
“H-how so?!”
>”That isn’t much of an answer, Anon.” she replies, almost giggling

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>You had to stop for a moment to take a breath; you may have ended up screaming otherwise
“You’re just… acting weird! I don’t know!”
>”Well it’s not everyday that you almost die, Anon.” Anna says, scooting her chair closer to the bedside. “You can’t expect me to be perfectly okay with all of this…”
“You never mentioned talking to the cops either.”
>”That was just the last thing on my mind at the moment, especially after you had woken up. It’s not like I’m hiding anything from you, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“I never said you were hiding anything.”
>”Because I’m not.” she finishes, forcing out a smile

>It was so strange. Even though she was merely inches from your face, she almost looked like a complete stranger to you.
>She looked like Anna… felt like Anna, yet all of her words and mannerisms seemed forced; unnatural, as if they were not her own

“...then what is with the hoodie?”
>”The what…?”
“The hoodie. You’ve had it zipped up this entire time”

>You could feel your head starting to ache again

>”It’s...cold.”
“Even when you were sleeping next to me…?”
>”Yeah, bu-”
“With a blanket over you?”
>”I like it this way.”
“Yeah?”
>”Yeah. And I…
“You...what?”
>”I… think you are just thinking about all of this too hard, Anon.” She reached out, placing her hand on your cheek. “You’ve just been through a lot, okay?”

>You reach up, taking her hand from your face, lowering it to your side
>Your head now pounding
“I know you… and I know that this isn’t normal. You didn’t even ask why I lied to the cop.”

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>Anna paused for a moment before responding

>”Because I already know why… you're just trying to protect what you love.” she said, leaning even closer to you that she ever was before
>”And just like you, I would do absolutely anything to protect the ones I love.” she whispered before planting a soft kiss on your cheek. “Let me do all of the worrying, okay?”
“Anna, you aren’t… you aren’t making… ugh…”

>Your head felt like is was about to split open from the headache raging through your skull; you could barely think at all

>”Are the headaches back?” Anna whispered, running her fingers through your hair
>All you could do was nod
>”I’m going to go grab a nurse, okay?”

>Anna planted another quick kiss on your forehead before standing

>”I’ll be right back.” she said, smiling before disappearing into the hall

“Errgh… what the fuck…” you murmur under your breath, gripping the side of your head

>It’s like nothing's making sense to you anymore… was Anna actually acting weird?
>Were these headaches messing with your head?
>Anna has never really lied to you before, but-

“F-fuck!”

>Pain...

>It’s getting worse
>You just want this to be over
>You just want to go home

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-~-~-~-~-~-(Back at Anon’s House)-~-~-~-~-~-
*WHAM*
>”You’re wasting your time.”
*WHAM*
*WHAM*
>”It’s not going to budge, Kat…”
...

*WHAM*

>”MOTHERFUCKER!!!” Katya screamed, her voice having long gone ragged
>”Anon’s going to be pissed when he sees this you kno-.” Shelly said, barely dodging Katya’s now airborne mallet. “What the FUCK is your deal?!”

>Loose tools were scattered about the floor of the makeshift workshop from the Krinkov’s futile attempts to breach the safe
>Various hammers, crowbars, wedges and mallets strewn about
>Needless to say, the shop safe had seen better days
>Not to mention the smashed keypad thanks to a certain 03-A3…
>Scratches, gouges and dents covered the door, particularly around the hinges, yet it was showing no sign of budging


>”What do you think?!” Katya barked, her feline ears laying low and back against her head; tail bristling. “No one else has helped at all!”
>”Yeah, maybe because, I don’t know, you’re kinda destroying Anon’s shit?” the Mossberg said, now standing
>”Sophie is trapped in there.”
>”She’s a gun… in a safe… I’d hardly call that trapped.”
>”You saw know how badly she freaked out in there!”

>*Sigh* ”Look, all I’m saying is that Anon is going to be pretty pissed when he gets back and sees this.”
>”If he comes back at all!”

>Shelly’s yellow speckled blue eyes narrowed on Kat

>”You know what? Fine, go ahead, wreck the place.” Shelly said, marching out of the room. “See if I care when Anon tears you AND Anna a new one!”

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-~-~-~-~-~-(Katya)-~-~-~-~-~-

*WHAM*

>Katya’s hand was still grasping the door handle; it rattling in her grip
“...”
>If she was stronger she may have very well torn the thing off

“...FUCKING BITCHES!” Katya roared, punting the bucket off the porch, scattering sand and cigarette butts across the lawn, leaving her foot throbbing
“Fuck… you…” she hissed through clenched teeth

>What was their problem; why couldn’t anyone just help...?
>Were they scared of Anna?
>Did they not want to take sides?
>...or did they simply not care about Sophie?

“A-assholes…” she muttered; using the sleeves of Anon’s hoodie to wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes

>Of course they didn’t care. What would any of them know about being so fucked up that you can hardly function?
>They may all have all of their problems; but she couldn’t come close to relating to any of them, except for maybe Sophie
>Which is why she wasn’t going to leave Sophie to fend for herself, wasn’t going to be the one who let her down
>Fuck Anna
>Fuck Shelly
>Fuck all of them

>Taking a deep breathe, she pulled up the hood over her head and tucked her tail beneath her skirt, doing her best to conceal her feline features
>Anita lived only a mile or so away, but she didn’t need to draw any unwanted attention to herself; after all it wasn’t unheard of for a lone wandering geist to be abducted and stolen away
>But that wasn’t going to stop her

>So she began walking

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>It was overcast with a cool breeze, making it feel much closer to early fall than it did to late summer
>Katya prefered this kind of weather any day of the week over sunshine and clear skies; it made her feel more relaxed
>Rain was even better; while everyone else is inside making a bunch of noise, she would be out on the front porch smoking, enjoying the sound of the rain against the pavement

“Damn it.” she muttered, having remembered once more that her last smoke being days ago
>She raised a jittery finger to her mouth, chewing the nail

>Her habit made it so the she was usually the last one to see Anon before he left for the day, and always the first
>Usually it would just be a quick, “See-ya”, or “Hey”
>If it had been a particularly bad day, Anon would bum a cigarette off of her, chatting quietly with the Krinkov so as not to alert the others he was home yet
>He enjoyed the company of all of the girls, but sometimes he just wanted to stop and take a breather from the chaos of the daily grind

>With everything that had happened… she could really use one of those talks right now

“Don’t die you dick...”
>She may not be able to help Anon right now, but she still had to make herself useful

>Snapping herself out of it, she quickened her pace to Anita’s
>Bill shouldn’t mind her coming with Katya

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>Bill was a coworker of Anon’s, having retired a few years ago
>He is your stereotypical American retiree; overweight, balding, loves his beer and his Harley, usually giving it a few revs when passing by Anon’s place
>And always on the back of that old Harley was Bill’s wife, Jeanette
>She loved that motorcycle
>What Jeanette did not love however, was Anita, Bill’s Vepr-12… and who could blame her?

>Anita was loud and obnoxious, smoked like a chimney (often stealing his cigars), and drank all of the liquor that wasn’t locked up
>Jeanette would complain to Bill at least once a week that he needs to sell Anita off
>And he would, if it wasn’t for the fact that Anita had dirt on him proving an extramarital affair he had many moons ago… so as far as Bill was concerned, Anita gets to swipe as much liquor and cigars as she wants

>She even had a tendency to get on Anon’s nerves, as patient as he was; so Katya usually kept her visits short
>Not to mention the incessant back and forth between Anita and Shelly

>She was a bit of a pain in the ass to say the least, but she was just about the only one Katya could rely on right now

“Left, or…”
>She just had to remember how to get there first...

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>After a few missed turns, Katya had finally arrived to the proper street
>Only issue now was finding the right house; she had only seen it once about a year ago, and that was simply while passing it in Anon’s car
>Was the siding beige, or maybe closer to a green color? Did it have brick accents?
>This may end up taki-

>”KATYA?!” cried a familiar voice from behind. “IS THAT MY KATYA??”
>Katya was only able to catch a glimpse of the Vepr before being hoisted up and squeezed
“H-hey Ani-”
>”Oh Kat! It’s been so long since I’ve seen your wonderful face!” the slightest hint of a Russian accent peaking through
“It’s only b-been a few weeks.” Katya managed to cough out before finally being released

>Anita, like most, stood several heads over Katya, probably close to six feet tall
>Tall pointed ears and a long, cheetah like tail made her seem almost like an upscaled version of the Krinkov
>Her messy bleach blond hair was pulled back into a simple ponytail; blazing orange eyes staring into Katya
>It was only now that Katya realized that Anita was only wearing a black, oversized bathrobe that looked about ready to fall off

“What are you wearing?” Katya deadpanned
>”Oh, this?” Anita started, rather amused with herself. “The old man took his lady a cruise. I’ve got the place to myself for the whole week!”

>That should be one less person to explain things to at least…

“Hey-”
>”Oh! You should stay with me!”
“Anita-”
>”We can watch filthy movies-”
“Anita…”
>”And drink ‘til we can’t see straight! Bill has this-”
“ANITA!!!” Katya screamed, surprised by her own tone

>As well as by the tears welling up in her eyes

>Anita stood there stunned; she had known Kat to get loud and angry, but never has she shown any emotions like this in front of her

>Anita’s expression turned soft
>”What’s wrong, my darling?” Anita purred, placing her hands on Katya’s shoulder
“Can we talk inside. Please.” Katya forced out, averting her watery eyes from Anita’s
>”Come.” she said, taking Katya by the hand


>”DON’T YOU COMPARE ME TO THAT… THAT BITCH!” Katya screamed, following Michelle out into the hall
>But Shelly never bothered to turn around

>The Krinkov’s anger had long boiled over; The Twins were too preoccupied with Ellie, but neither Julie or Michelle even tried to help
>Shelly even had the audacity to sit back and critique Katya’s attempts

>”FINE! If no one here will help me then I’ll get it elsewhere!” Kat said, stomping off toward the front door
>”Where are you going? Asked Julie, who had posted herself at the front door since Anna had left
>”I’m getting Anita!”
>”Anita?!” called out Shelly from the living room. “Don’t you bring that whore over-!” the slamming door cutting Shelly off. “DAMN IT!”