Thank You For Being a Friend

[saphiragranger9]

Hey! Guess who came back from The State Thespian Conference~? And guess what? We totally rocked the stage and got a standing ovation for it! Now we are done with Seussical for good!

Anyway, I would like to thank you guys for the comments and the support. I cannot even begin to tell you how much I appreciate you! ^^ Have a good night and, don't worry, the second part of Chapter 5 will be up soon! Thank you all again, and good night!

[natalie]

Congratulations!! Thats great!!

Your Welcome!!

Can hardly wait for the part 2 of Chapter 5!!

[Amayasama]

^^ Aw I'm happy you guys did well. x3 And no need to rush darling, we'll all be here when it's posted XD

[Satal]

I have been reading this on my phone so excuse the lack of commenting, but dear, you have me hooked! I am happy that you, unlike me, have a steady pace going and I know it most likely will not be long for the next update. And I am so excited I want to see what happens. Lol. Good job!

[Neon]

I like this story, I do. It's fresh and exciting with every update ... mine can only be exciting about half the time ... <<; ... ;-;
You build suspense very well.

[saphiragranger9]

It took me forever, but I FINALLY finished it! Here's the second half of chapter five! Now, this is probably one of the longest, most boring chapters (or chapter parts) you'll ever read. However, I had to practically plow through writers block to get it... so to me it was all worth it! Well, I best be gettin' to bed, I have school in the morning. Good night and thank you! Enjoy!

Chapter 5: Coming Back Part 2

Bernie rolled over, moaning as her ribs ached. There was Keaton, green eyes, fangs, and platinum colored hair. It didn’t seem possible to her, but she could have sworn that Keaton looked just a bit bigger width and height wise. He seemed to be holding something in his hand.

As Bernie attempted to get up, but Keaton had beat her to that by taking his index finger and scooped her up onto his hand. Bernie rolled onto her knees, still clutching onto her books. She glanced over at Keaton’s other hand and dropped her jaw and her books.

“IS THAT MY CAR?” she screamed.

The outrageously colored car sat in Keaton’s other hand, undisturbed. From what Bernie could see, there weren’t any scratches or dents on it… at least on the side she saw.

“How did you get a hold of my car?” she said frantically.

“Calm down, Bernie, you might have a heart attack,” said Keaton, “Yes. It’s your car… I could get your scent on it.”

“T-T-Then why are you asking me where I was?” asked Bernie, “You were able to sniff out my car, why didn’t you know I was here?”

“For all I knew, I was just getting your scent from yesterday,” said Keaton.

Bernie felt as if she was going to faint. She didn’t know if it was just that her car was in Keaton’s hand or if it was being up so high while moving, but she knew that she was beginning to feel warm and dizzy

“Where were you all day?” demanded Keaton, “When you said you’d be here tomorrow, I thought you’d want to come early so that you could finish this as soon as possible.”

“I could have if I would have but, unlike you, I had to go to school,” said Bernie.

“School?” muttered Keaton.

“Yeah, uh… it’s a place that people—human people—have to go until they’re old enough to live on their own,” explained Bernie, stunned that he didn’t know, “I’m a Junior in high school so I’m almost done with school unless I go to college. Then college is an entirely different ball game.”

Keaton was quiet. He seemed a little bit amazed and also very confused. Suddenly, he brought Bernie into the other hand with her car. Bernie was cautious as she moved to her car with her books in her arms. She climbed in and sank into the passenger’s seat, relieved.

“Get out of the car,” said Keaton.

Bernie shook her head. Then she decided to roll down her window and lean out. To her, it was extremely weird to be up in the air with her car, stationary.

“You cannot pay me enough to leave the safety of this car,” huffed Bernie.

Keaton scowled.

“Fine,” he growled.

Bernie admitted that she was intimidated especially since his growl shook the flesh of his hand.

“So you have to be at this school place all day?” asked Keaton.

“Yeah, it’s the law… Why ask? Didn’t you go to school where you came from?” asked Bernie leaning on her arms on the window.

Keaton was silent again. He looked somber as well. This sparked Bernie’s curiosity, she made sure she watched her words, though. The worse thing she could do was offend Keaton.

“… Where did you come from anyway?” asked Bernie.

Keaton shook his head and looked at her. His brow furrowed and she saw his fangs rise a little, stunned. Bernie saw him become angry so she ducked down in the passenger’s seat.

“I don’t have to tell you,” he snapped.

Jesus Christ, is this guy bipolar or what, thought Bernie.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry,” apologized Bernie.

There was a pause.

“Come out… I’ll tell you,” murmured Keaton almost apologetically.

“I’m not coming out of this car, I already told you!” she called.

“No. I just mean come out of hiding,” said Keaton.

With that, Bernie slowly rose and sat in her seat. At the same time, Keaton sat down as well, looking at Bernie with a stare like the Thinker’s cold contemplative gaze. She stared back at him, waiting for him to speak.

God, he’s bipolar, thought Bernie, next he’s probably going to burst into tears and throw… oh shit!

The car tipped over on the passenger’s side as if it was beginning to roll down a hill like it had done two days before. Bernie screamed in terror, waiting to go tumbling again however, the car seemed to slowly rock back onto four wheels. The car jolted and Bernie gasped for air, realizing she had stopped breathing when the car rolled back onto its wheels.

He’d almost let her roll off of his hand. Bernie knew that, even though Keaton had sat down, the drop would have possibly killed her. A blaze of fury filled Bernie’s gut and she stuck her head out the window.

“What was that all a--,” Bernie stopped and saw Keaton hunched over holding his other hand across his stomach. He snarled in agony as it seemed, what Bernie could see of his face was screwed up in pain. Keaton groaned loudly and then let out a roar.

The hair rose on Bernie’s arms as he roared; it was feral like an animal. No, like a monster in all of those horror films she and her friends had seen only worse… much worse. Bernie held her ears and opened her mouth in a silent scream. She closed her eyes, just waiting for him to stop. He didn’t though, not for a long time.

As soon as the roar died out, Keaton heaved heavy breaths roaring in between each breath.

“Keaton…” said Bernie aloud.

This continued for a long time. Bernie slunk down into her seat again and held her ears, praying to God and every saint, martyr, and angel she could think of that this would stop.

Eventually, the ruckus finally stopped. Bernie, who had retreated into the backseat to curl up on the floor, was feeling the car get lower as Keaton’s hand moved, Keaton’s hand rose and fell with every laborious breath he took. The sensation to look out and see what had happened to Keaton was far too great, so Bernie cautiously inched up from the floor and peeked out the window.

All she could see from the point she was at was the grungy, green shirt the giant had been wearing and… holy crap, a larger abdomen?

Bernie’s brown eyes swept over as far as she could see over Keaton’s hand only getting what seemed to be miles of green shirt. She had no choice but to exit the car and observe what had happened. The minute her feet touched the flesh of Keaton’s hand, Bernie wished she had stayed in the car. All of a sudden, Keaton’s hand slowly swept to the side. She knew that Keaton was lying down by now, especially when she saw the acres of trees he had… wait acres?!

Though it did not seem possible, Bernie as she tried to cling onto the door of her car, she could have sworn that Keaton had gotten bigger. The size of his torso was enormous compared to what she had seen so many moments ago. His muscles had grown bigger as well; in fact, Bernie saw that all of Keaton was bigger than it originally was… what had happened?

Suddenly, she was in front of Keaton’s enlarged face. His green eyes seemed dull and his mouth hung limp. From the looks of it, Bernie could see that Keaton was probably looking to shove off pretty soon; the very thought instilled an unidentifiable, rather unpleasant feeling in Bernie’s heart

“K-k-Keaton…” she muttered.

He said nothing. Bernie waited, watching him with the utmost care. Then, as if awakened from a trance, Keaton shook his head and his green eyes came into focus.

“You’re still here?” he asked.

Bernie paused and then nodded slowly. Where else would I go, asshole?

“You’re so stupid… if I were you, I would have run for my damned life,” he grunted.

“What the hell just happened?” demanded Bernie.

For a moment, Keaton looked away. His green gaze quickly went back to her, full of a sorrow Bernie had never seen in anyone’s eyes… except for Carly and her parents.

“Are you dying?” Bernie asked frantically.

A weak scowl creased his eyebrows.

“Dying? Are you kidding me?” he wheezed.

“Shut up!” hissed Bernie.

“Like fuck I’m dying,” replied Keaton, “just give me a minute. Get back in your car so you don’t fall when I get up…”

Bernie didn’t need to be told twice. She got into the driver’s side of her car. Keaton heaved himself up almost effortlessly, making Bernie clutch to her steering wheel for dear life. Now Bernie had a full chance to look at him. Her eyes widened to the size of tea saucers.

“HOLY SHIT!” she screamed.

Now that Bernie could see all of him, it was hard not to stare. The grungy green shirt, which once fit him like a glove now revealed his overly ripped abdomen and ended just above where his diaphragm was. He was much wider than Bernie remembered him being and certainly much taller; his head almost touched the canopy of the forest. She knew it!

“Shut up!” he snapped at her.

His voice was extremely loud, causing Bernie to cringe.

“Oh my God…” she muttered.

“Yeah,” he said flexing his opposite arm, “You see that?”

Bernie nodded slowly.

“Look again,” said Keaton, “… Do you still see it? Do you think this isn’t real? Huh? Look again--!”

“I SEE IT, OKAY?” screamed Bernie, “Now how did this happen?”

Keaton stopped flexing to put his hand over his face, his fangs in a light snarl.

“I… I don’t know!” he said.

Bernie observed him for a moment.

“You’re lying!” she called out to him, “You’re lying and you know it! Keaton, what just happened? How do you grow like this? Is this change only temporary?”

Keaton looked at her like a savage. His green gaze made it clear that he didn’t want her to speak to him at all. Bernie did shut up, but she was anxious to know what had just occurred for one reason; oddly enough, she was concerned for him.

“It’s been like this ever since I can remember,” grumbled Keaton, “I’VE been like this ever since I can remember… once every month, my body changes. It just--- It just DOES that! It like tears my insides just to expand me… like some parasitic disease… no one ever told me… there was no one to tell me. And--- And---.”

Keaton fell silent. Bernie, for no apparent reason, felt a shot of panic shake her being just seeing him like this.

He’s a giant, damn it! She tried to convince herself, the bastard’s just being a crybaby!

Bernie! Said a voice inside of her head, this could be a problem for him. This could potentially reveal him… or WORSE.

Bernie looked up into Keaton’s face.

“Let me help you then,” said Bernie in a rather stupid fashion. How the hell could she help him?

As if he had read her mind, Keaton let out a harsh bark. “You? Help ME? That’s a really bad joke, even for a human.”

“Keaton,” said Bernie, “just let me help you out here; this could be serious----!”

“Oh no,” said Keaton in a fierce voice, “I refuse to sink to those depths!”

“What depths?” Bernie demanded.

“Ha!” he roared, “as if you didn’t know! Never, never, never, never, NEVER will I rely on a human for help; you stupid little fleas cause enough trouble as it is. Also, how can YOU ever help ME? You don’t understand this; you don’t understand any of this!”

“You moron, at least let me try-----.”

“NO!” he cried out, “You might think you’re here now to serve a higher purpose for me. Well, think again, Bernie, THINK AGAIN! You’re just here because I said so. That’s all you are; a jailbird. I didn’t even want you here but I asked you back because I know you humans. You always feel like you should owe something to someone. What a joke! I could care less about you or what I did for YOUR benefit!”

These words just about killed Bernie as she slumped back into the driver’s seat. She shouldn’t have come; she should’ve just cared less if Keaton rampaged through this forest and gone home. How stupid was she to actually think a small part of him had changed after yesterday? It went to show her, some people never change their minds. No matter how much she insisted on wanting to help him, he would never waiver from insulting humanity through her.

Fine, if she was a prisoner to Keaton, there was only one thing to do. She rolled down her window and leaned outward.

“If that’s the way you feel,” she said, “Take me back to the highway, I’m going home.”

Keaton stared at her.

“What?” he snapped.

“Look, I don’t care if you ‘accidentally’ saved my life—or if you even saved it on purpose—I’m not going to bother you ever again,” said Bernie, choking deeply in her throat.

Keaton looked at her curiously and then scowled.

“No,” he thundered in pain.

“Let’s just make it seem like we never met each other; I owe you nothing,” said Bernie, “And I never saw what happened here today. In fact, as soon as I drive away, you go back to what you were to me; a fairytale.”

“No… You still owe me your life, you can only go when I tell you to—.”

“There’s no reason for me to BE here!” cried Bernie, “All of this time, I could have been visiting Leo or talking with my sisters or putting fresh flowers on my best friend’s grave.”

On the last part, Bernie felt her eyes well up and she shook her head.

“Just… just take me to the main road--- where you found the car,” said Bernie.

Then, Bernie felt as if they were moving. Keaton was walking forward, no longer looking at her but straight ahead, dead in front of him. Bernie did the same thing, only this time; tears were rolling down her face while silent sobs racked her body. She wiped her eyes and spotted the main road up ahead. The tears were still going down her face and she began to cry harder for Carly, wishing that she was here to help her out. She’d wished this for three days after Carly had been buried. Carly was tough, she could take on a man three times her size and manage to win a coherent argument. Why couldn’t Bernie have been like that with Keaton?

The giant looked both ways on the main road, his face set in stone. When all was clear, he leaned over and slid the car out of his hand, onto the main road. Bernie dared not look up at him as he lumbered on back through the forest as the trees seemed to thin in his wake.

*

Keaton looked at his enormous feet as he left Bernie behind on the main road. All the words she had said Keaton still couldn’t believe. Of course she owed him something! He’d saved her pathetic human life… ah, but who needed her anyway? What was so special about humans?

Keaton walked to the lake, waiting to inspect his reflection to see what had changed. While he stood on the edge of the lake, his wide face and bold green eyes glared back at him. He flexed his supremely developed muscles, watching them function and stretch. The shirt disappointed him, though, he’d hoped that the green shirt he had been wearing would last him a lifetime but, sadly, it didn’t. The good news was that his pants could expand along with him.

His teeth had grown notably sharper as he had changed. If he could have, he would have torn Bernadette’s car apart with her in it with his teeth to retaliate her insolence.

As Keaton continued to look as his reflection, he couldn’t help but feel the phantom weight of Bernie’s car sitting in his hand. He’d felt it almost tumble over in his hand as he transformed, heard Bernie scream with fear from within as her car shifted suddenly to one side. She didn’t decided to suddenly get out of her car and fall to her death to escape during the whole process, oh no.

Keaton shook his head. Why did he care anyway? Bernie was smart enough to see that she was too far off the ground to jump. This surprised him, especially since he saw humans as impeccably stupid. In his reflection, Keaton remembered what Bernie had said to him before she had left.

Let me help you… No one had ever said that to him before. He’d never heard those words in the same sentence at the same time. How could it be so?

A moment later, Keaton finally realized why he did care about Bernie’s actions.

This wasn’t the first time a HUMAN had done something or offered him something; this was the first time ANYONE had ever done or offered Keaton something. It also wasn’t about how special HUMANS were… it was about how valuable one’s company could be for a creature that was alone in the universe.

Keaton put his face in his hands in shame; he’d just lost something valuable and he would probably never see it again.

[Amayasama]

XD *Squeal* You used my idea with the car! ;3; But poor Keaton...I wonder if he'll go after her to apoligize D: Poor dear <3 Anf congratz through demolishing your writers block XD

[Neon]

Good job for getting over writer's block. ^^
Aaaaand WHAT a TWEEST.
I like how you have them contrast each other with personality. ^^

And I didn't say it before 'cause I was lazy, but congrats on your performance at the Thespian Convention. I went to ours, too, but our show wasn't allowed to perform because of weather and other stuff.

[saphiragranger9]

Yeah, that was almost the same way with us. It doesn't help that we live in the Midwest XD. Anyway, I'm really sorry to hear that, Neon. I hope you guys will get another chance to perform! ^^

Okay, and I'm blonde so bear with me but, when you say they contrast with each other in personality, what exactly do you mean? Like I said, I'm a blonde and I just tried to piece this story together as the characters demand (then I torture them! XD).

Amayasama, I loved your idea for the car so I put it in for just a pinch of comic relief, so thank you very, very, very much! ^^

Also, thank you all so much! I'm glad you all like this story and I love writing it for you. So thank you all, once again, and have a lovely evening! ^^

[natalie]

This wasn’t the first time a HUMAN had done something or offered him something; this was the first time ANYONE had ever done or offered Keaton something. It also wasn’t about how special HUMANS were… it was about how valuable one’s company could be for a creature that was alone in the universe.

Keaton put his face in his hands in shame; he’d just lost something valuable and he would probably never see it again.

I really really like the car part too!! Really good, I also like the above parts!! Really awesome intense update!! Can hardly wait for more!!

[Amayasama]

XD haha I couldn't help myself, having Keaton hold the car like some matchbox car made me laugh x3 *hugs*

[natalie]

Jan 16, 2010 17:21:43 GMT -5 Amayasama said:

XD haha I couldn't help myself, having Keaton hold the car like some matchbox car made me laugh x3 *hugs*

Yeah, I thought the part were she leans out her window and says "you couldn't pay me enough to get out of this car" was funny also :>

[saphiragranger9]

Chapter Six: Near Death, Far
Bernie drove her way home, the radio blaring as tears streamed down her face. She hated that she had done as that stupid giant had said. What the hell was she thinking?

She drew deep breaths as she drove her way to High Grove. All she had to do was forget. That should be quite easy to do… not. No matter how far she pushed him from it, Keaton just couldn’t leave her thoughts. How could he? How many fanged, continuously growing, silver haired giants did one meet in their lifetime? Bernie probably wouldn’t forget him. He was bound to cross her mind sooner or later

Just as she was about to pull up to High Grove road, she slammed her hand on her horn exasperated. She forgot something. Her iPod was out in the forest. Shit, she hadn’t even known that she’d dropped it. So, though she knew her mother would have killed her for it, Bernie popped a U turn and drove back.

Damn it… Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it…

In a matter of minutes, Bernie was parked back where she had originally been parked and stumbled back down the hill into the forest. Bernie ranted to herself as even more tears poured in streams down her face. Stupid Bernadette Hughes, probably walking into a shower of insults or a death trap set by a giant. What a perfect way to go out, especially when you felt as if something was tearing your insides apart.

Carly… damn it, chicklet, I wish you were here right about now… I can’t handle this on my own, thought Bernie.

As she went into the forest, she scanned the leaf scattered floor of the forest for her bright red iPod. She wiped away the last of her tears, finally calming down a little. For five minutes, Bernie searched for iPod with little success.

Bernie kept looking though… and looking… and looking until… FINALLY!

Bernie glimpsed a tiny red shape on the ground where Keaton had picked her up earlier and jogged to it. As she bent down to pick it up, Bernie could have sworn she heard a rustle from within the trees. She looked up and her eyes swept around and up and down all over the forest, searching for where the rustling came from. Seeing no one or nothing, Bernie shrugged and picked up her iPod. She stood straight up and put the iPod in her pocket.

The rustling came again, only this time it was closer. Bernie looked around again and called out, “Hello?”

For a reply, Bernie got another rustle, approaching her at a steady pace. Bernie knew better than to piss off whatever it was, for all she knew it was Keaton passing through. She turned around to leave but the rustling and her curiosity got the best of her so she stopped and turn back around again.

Bernie cupped her hand over her mouth to keep herself from screaming at the sight. Behind her, there was a gargantuan wolf like creature with canine teeth almost as big as Yao Ming and both eyes that blazed a peculiar red Bernie had never seen before. Its fur was snow white and seemed to have no sheen to it even with the little light that fought its way through the trees. Like Keaton, this creature towered over her, a mountain of white fur and teeth growling a feral and vicious tune.

For the longest time, Bernie didn’t move. Her heart beat picked up at an alarmingly fast rate and she was ready to run especially since the creature was glaring dead at her. The creature advanced, its paws shaking the ground as it walked. Bernie could see the claws; they were sharp much like the creature’s teeth only worse because they could tear something much easier outside of its mouth… like Bernie’s flesh. As the creature came close, it crouched ready to jump on its small, silent, stationary, and defenseless prey. Its mouth showed more rows of teeth, each one sharper than the next and equally as long. Finally, Bernie felt her fight or flight instinct kicking her to run as fast as her legs would allow her.

She turned and ran in the direction her car was. A few feet later, the ground shook violently beneath her again only as if an earthquake were occurring. Bernie prayed she’d make it to her car before the creature caught up with her. But behind her she could hear it panting violently, its hot breath creating a hurricane that blew through the trees.

There were times as Bernie ran that she almost lost her balance though she still pushed on as far as her will power would allow her. Then, just as she thought she was in the clear, Bernie tripped over her steps and fell, her ribs sending a searing pain through her body, making her scream out in agony.
*
Keaton finished his examination; just about everything was perfectly normal… well for him anyway. He got in the lake to bathe and to soothe some of his aching muscles. He felt like crap in so many ways but one, he didn’t know if he could redeem that.

Aw, what did he care? He’d get over it. Yeah, he was used to being alone, it’s not like he needed company. He’d been doing it ever since he was able to remember; living and thriving on his own without anyone to care for or about him. Keaton could take care of himself.

As he emerged from the water, he felt the ground tremor beneath his feet. Keaton’s eyebrow cocked, puzzled.

Funny, he thought, I didn’t think there’d be earthquakes at this time of the year.

The tremors continued for a little until he heard a shrill, pain-filled scream and the tremors began to decrease. His eyes shot wide open when he realized that he had heard that scream before… Bernie.

Why did she come back? Hadn’t she made it clear that she’d never wanted to see Keaton again? And why was she screaming?

Keaton didn’t take the time to ponder those questions as he dashed off into the trees towards the site where the scream came from.
*
Bernie curled to the ground, shrieking between breaths in pain. The shaking of the ground became less and less… Oh God, thought Bernie, I’m so fucked.

Slowly, she rolled over to see the face of the wolf-creature with its teeth bared and red eyes flashing. Bernie soon started to hyperventilate as she attempted to push herself off the ground and onto her feet. This turned the wolf on, making the glint in his eye hungrier, more savage.

She couldn’t help it, there almost seemed to be no way out even as she began to scoot away from the beast to find the room to runaway again. So, she began screaming; pain, frustration, fright, and several other unidentifiable emotions poured into her vocals as she shrieked.

Once Bernie had finally gotten up, she found it difficult to walk. Shit, twisted ankle… what the hell, Bernie still tried to manage a getaway strategy. She limped quickly to her left only to be smack down on the ground; immobile and in even more pain to make her cry out some more. The wolf-creature’s gigantic paw was on her, pinning her to the ground like a cat with a field mouse. It’s black nose was so close to touching her bringing the canines closer so that she could see exactly what she’d be meeting next.

There was no way out, so Bernie looked away in terror; a sign to the beast that it could do whatever it pleased with her as long as she didn’t have to witness it being done.
*
Keaton crashed through the trees, catching an unfamiliar odor as it wafted closer towards him. He believed it to be the scent of a canine… once he was at the site the scream had erupted; his assumption had been proven right.

He saw the back of a gigantic white wolf that was knee high to him. He couldn’t see the other features but he didn’t need to as he saw that it had something pinned underneath his paw, probably waiting to do the unspeakable with its captive. Without further ado, Keaton lurched from his place in the trees and grabbed the wolf in both of his hands, and flung it to the side.

He took no time to examine what would have been the wolf’s victim as he looked off where he had flung it. Keaton didn’t look at Bernie as he growled, “Stay here” and ran off after the beast.

As a giant, Keaton knew that giants didn’t go down that easy. This wolf, though it was much smaller than him, was still standing when Keaton arrived. It limped something awful, but it none the less barked at Keaton as he stood there watching him with red eyes.

“Come on, buddy,” hissed Keaton, “Show me what you little pooches are made of.”

That was exactly what the wolf did as it jumped, amazingly enough with its bad leg(s) and its stature, high enough to bite into Keaton’s arm. Keaton howled, trying to shake it off of him. But like a tick, the creature stuck on biting slowly into his flesh, fruitlessly trying to break the bone in his arm.

Keaton rolled and pounded on the mutt, cussing loudly as he did. Finally, he managed to pry the wolf from his arm, pinning it to the ground with one hand that nearly covered the wolf’s torso. The wolf attempted to get up from under his hand, scratching him with his sharp, cat like claws. It managed to flip Keaton’s hand over and leap to his chest. To Keaton’s greatest surprise and displeasure, the wolf knocked him over. Whatever this thing was, it was a damned strong little bugger.

It barked and tore up Keaton’s chest, destroying his already ruined his green shirt even more with his claws. Keaton thrashed, trying to wrestle the small creature off of him. It was just about as effective as a man trying to fight a rabid squirrel off of his chest. They wrestled around for a few minutes, scarring and bleeding violently. Then, Keaton finally managed to pin down the wolf once again. This time, to alert the bloodied up wolf of his triumph, he roared right in its face.

At the end of the roar, Keaton looked at the wolf then shock colored his expression. He knew where this struggling, angry creature had come from. It wasn’t an accident of nature nor was it natural itself or even magical. The wolf was like him; a creature created by humans to prove a point. Keaton almost took pity and let the creature go but then he caught a scent, clenching his heart with fear.

Slowly, he looked around and, surely enough, there was Bernie hunched over and staring from behind a tree, watching them.

“Keaton…”

“Dammit, I told you to-----.”

Caught off guard, the wolf bit Keaton’s hand viciously. This caused Keaton to relinquish his grip on the wolf as he howled yet again. The wolf was sly, he dodged every one of Keaton’s body part’s that attempted to come down and crush it like a fox. Keaton knew that it was headed for Bernie.

The only way that wolf would get to her was through Keaton’s dead body, and that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. He once again launched forward and grabbed the wolf with a new found fury, he picked it up and began pounding it on the ground, letting it whimper and cry in protest until it let out nothing more. Blood and bone parts flew all over the place as Keaton crushed the poor creature on the ground, the corpse hung limp in his hand like a little ragdoll. Finally, it was over. The wolf was dead, nevermore to wreak havoc again. Keaton heaved slow steady breaths, trying to calm himself down.

He sat down, his wounded areas throbbing and gushing with blood. Keaton looked at the wolf’s corpse, disgusted and then threw it out of his site. He’d go back for it later… right then, he turned to Bernie and saw her looking up at him, pained and awestruck.

“You okay?” he grumbled.

Bernie nodded slowly, her mouth open and her eyes wide.

“… Didn’t get your ribs broken again, did you?” asked Keaton.

Bernie shook her head. For moments, they stared at each other in a stunned silence that seemed to stretch on for eons. Keaton sighed and looked away eventually. Now that he knew Bernie was okay, he thought about the wolf he had just so brutally executed. How could it be so? How could a creature like that escape unto humanity? How could someone be so careless as to do something like that? And, if the creature had been made like Keaton had been made, did this mean that… there were possibly more?

Keaton was soon brought out of his heavy contemplation when he felt something moving on his hand wound. It was soft and felt like a bug racing across human fingers. He looked down and, to his greatest shock, saw Bernie using the jacket she had been wearing attempting to clean his wound.

“You don’t have to do that,” he complained.

“I’m doing this because I want to,” she said in a croak, “We have to move near some water; Dad would kill me for doing this but we don’t have anything else. Go to the lake, please.”

He was shocked. Bernie really seemed to care... and not out of pity. No matter what his tongue wanted to do, he kept it silent. There was time for spit-fire, or none at all, later. Right now, Keaton was both pleased and confused at Bernie's peculiar behavior... what kind of thing WAS this?

Keaton, did as Bernie had told him. Carefully, he gathered up his injured hand and Bernie with his free one and walked to the lake.


*
Bernie worked on Keaton’s wounds, all the while thanking God that her father wasn’t there to see this. He hated when people didn’t follow regular medical procedure for wounds like this. However, with Keaton being a giant, it wasn’t so easy to take him to get stitches especially if he hated humans and there weren’t the right medical tools to take care of him.

Though she knew she probably should have run after Keaton had destroyed that wolf-creature, Bernie couldn’t bring herself to do so. Keaton had just saved her life again. She couldn’t run away from that no matter what had been said earlier between the two of them or what had occurred. Bernie both felt like she did and didn’t owe Keaton anything for what he had done for her.

Once Keaton had reached the water, he lowered his hand and Bernie gently into the shallows of the lake. Bernie jumped into the water hip-deep and brought handfuls of the lake water to the wound to help it clean. She quickly took out her iPod, though, that way it wouldn’t suffer a slow, watery death. She heard Keaton wince once as she gently scrubbed over his wound.

“Hush,” she said softly, “You’re okay.”

“Yeah,” dead-panned Keaton, “Absolutely peachy…”

They said nothing to each other for minutes. Then Bernie glanced up at him as he looked away to something much more interesting to his left. It might be too early, but Bernie couldn’t help herself, she just had to tell him.

“Hey… Thanks,” said Bernie.

Keaton looked at her again, surprised.

“For what?” he asked.

“… You saved my life, again,” said Bernie. Then, quickly, she added, “By accident.”

Keaton watched her for a moment and then shook his head.

“No, not by accident this time,” he said.

Bernie shrugged. “Well, no matter how you did it, you did it. I’ll always thank you for that…”

“… No problem, Bernie…”

More silence followed. Bernie continued to clean the wound on the hand, wondering how they could wrap it. Then, Keaton spoke.

“So… why would your dad kill you?” he asked casually.

Bernie started and looked up at him.

“Huh?”

“Earlier, you said your dad would kill you for doing this. Why’s that?” asked Keaton.

“Oh,” chirped Bernie, then she sighed, “Well, it’s a long story but, my dad’s a doctor. Uh, well, frankly speaking a coroner but still—.”

“A coroner?” repeated Keaton slowly.

Bernie nodded. “Yeah. You see he—he works with dead people. He examines their bodies to see how they died, fills out death certificates, removes the organs… but anyway, he still does some regular doctor stuff. You know, he makes sure that bones are still intact, a few times he’s even had to give people stitches—those help close deep wounds or something like that. He’d kill me because—on a human level—you’d need stitches to clean these up. All I have is water and my jacket so it’s my fault if you get an infection… sorry.”

“Nah, it’s alright,” said Keaton, “Humans are so weird…”

Bernie smacked Keaton’s hand gently and rolled her eyes.

“As if you giants were any better,” she teased.

Keaton chuckled.

“So… does this mean that you’ll come back tomorrow?” he asked timidly.

Bernie looked at Keaton’s wound, frowning in deep thought.

“I guess… why?” she asked him.

Keaton shrugged and said no more.

He would have liked to tell Bernie how much it would mean to him but that would have been too sappy. Instead, he smirked as he watched the human work on trying to help his wound. Now he had a chance to regain what he thought he’d lost earlier… with hope, it would all work out. He knew it’d probably be nothing more than an acquaintanceship but even that still made him content just having someone there. He couldn't do this too quickly, though; human's had hurt him before and, for all he knew, Bernie just might hurt him later on.

Bernie cleaned his wounds, confused and, oddly enough, calm. She’d come back tomorrow, but not on the basis of her being Keaton’s slave every afternoon. He’d made it clear that he could care less if he’d saved her life, as long as she did what he wanted. She could just be his friend… no, that can’t happen.

What would happen if she got to close to Keaton? What if he took over Carly’s place in her heart and made her forget her best friend completely? There was a worry that Bernie knew she would have to face sooner or later and she was still too afraid to stand up and take it on.

That would never happen, thought Bernie, no, that’s never gonna happen because Keaton and I will, at one point go different directions. He’ll probably retreat up into some mountains sooner or later because he’s too big to stay in a dinky forest like this.

Don’t be afraid to let someone in… a voice cooed within her head.

Bernie brushed the voice away in her mind and continued to wash the wound. She wasn’t afraid, what kind of silly idea was that? All she knew was that you can never grow close to someone; in the end, there would only be hurt now matter how soft the landing. Her jacket was wet with water and stale with dry blood but Bernie went on, not speaking until she told Keaton to put his arm in the water.

“How long have you been out here by yourself?” asked Bernie a few minutes later.

“I honestly don’t know…” replied Keaton, “I’ve been alone for so long, I’ve never really kept track.”

Bernie nodded and tried to climb up on his arm to wash the bite marks in his arm. Keaton offered his assistance by picking her up and placing her on his thick, muscular arms.

“You mean you don’t have any family?” asked Bernie.

“Yeah and, if I did, I don’t remember them,” mumbled Keaton.

“I’m sorry…”

“For what?”

“… I’m sorry that you’re alone,” said Bernie.

“Hey, like I said, I’ve been alone for a long time,” said Keaton, “it’s nothing to worry about.”

“Well,” said Bernie, though it was rather cliché she offered, “Just let me know if there’s anything I can do for you… I’d be pretty glad to do it…”

Keaton suppressed a smile as he thought, You’re already doing it.



Kind of a craptastic chapter, I know but I was pretty happy with writing it. In my opinion, I think I screwed up much of the character developement by moving it along too quickly. :-\
Anyway, you all have a good-night!

[natalie]

Great update!! Cool

[Amayasama]

It's true this chapter moved a little quickly but it wasn't that bad xD Though I have to say I wished the wolfy was a pet of Keaton's...that would have been cute x3 Anyway! ;D I wonder if Bernie is staying the night with Keaton~

[saphiragranger9]

*finds a very protective place* Okay, don't get mad at me for what I'm about to say, but I'm thinking about revamping Chapter Six. After I've read it a couple of times, I realize that there are very many plot holes (some miniscule but still) and the character developement is unrealistic. Reading this, I realized that there was much more potential for this chapter and I think it is the way it is right now because I'm still trying to fight off writer's block.

If I said I was happy with what I had written earlier, I'm not really all that pleased anymore. So, I'll keep the old version of Chapter Six up but I'll be posting the second version (hopefully) very soon. So thank you all very much and have a lovely evening.

[Amayasama]

^^ You don't need to hide dear! It's good when there's room for improvment XD That just gives us more to read, why would we complain? ^^ I think it's a good idea dear, best of writing to you!

[natalie]

I think its a good idea, also!!

[Neon]

Jan 15, 2010 18:41:48 GMT -5 saphiragranger9 said:

Okay, and I'm blonde so bear with me but, when you say they contrast with each other in personality, what exactly do you mean? Like I said, I'm a blonde and I just tried to piece this story together as the characters demand (then I torture them! XD).

Sorry this reply is so late coming ... I think I missed your question. ^^; My bad
I mean just that, the two main characters' personalities play off of the differences between them, and make them seem even more different from each other, if that makes any sense. Bernie is a kind girl with a hurting heart, and yet she can find strength to be nice to this guy. Keaton, however, is full of bitterness, which is to Bernie's kindness like black is to white. Am I understandable? ^^;;;

Also, edit your chapters to your heart's content. It doesn't matter what we think, because it's your work, your choice. ^^ There's always room to make it better.