Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5: KNOWING

“Kat!? Katara!!” Samuel howled, shaking her shoulders gently. “Oh God, what's happening to her!?”
“The poison's killing her.” Alex said, rummaging through the pantry hurriedly. “Damn! Can't find the freaking-here!” she ran back into the room, mashing dried leaves into a paste in a small bowl, mixing it with water. He looked at her hopefully, “Will that-?”
“Yes..but I'm not sure for how long..damn it I wish I was a better healer.”
“You're fine. Don't worry about it.” he looked at Katara, his eyes soft. He touched her forehead, thick with sweat. She moaned, stiffening, then relaxing slowly. She mumbled something, before slipping into the dark that consumed her.
“What's that ganna do?” he asked softly, his eyes still on Kat.
“Well, I'm working blindly..I have to only treat the symptoms..no one's ever survived this long..so I'm not sure exactly what's happening to her.”
Sammy looked worried, staring at her, eyes wide.
“What if you treat the wrong thing?”
“I won't.” she mumbled, then louder, “Tilt up her head; help me feed this to her.”
He did as he was told, slipping his hand to the back of her head, holding it gently and lifting it up. Her jaw fell open in the action, gaping blindly at nothing. Alex dished the powder out into her mouth.
“That'll find whatever's bleeding inside her..then I'll go from there.”
He cocked a brow, looking at her, “Meaning?”
She sighed, looking at him with disbelief and annoyance. “What do healers do, idiot?” she snapped. Sammy glared at her, rolling his eyes, then looked back at Kat.
“How long will it take?”
“Depends.”
“On what!?” He snarled, turning to look at her.
She smirked, “You seem annoyed.”
“This is her freaking life on the line! And you won't tell me anything I need to know! No wonder I'm annoyed!!”
She rolled her eyes, “You are in deep, Sammuel. I feel bad for you. Cause she'll never-”
Sammy's glare cut her off and she shrugged. He turned back to Kat, who had started up a coughing fit again. Her chest jerked back and forth, blood spilling across her lips, splattering across his face, his shirt and hers. Slowly her mouth started to fill with blood.
“Oh my God!” Alex yelped, “What are you doing!? She's killing herself!!”
Sammuel snapped to attention, gripping her head and lifting her up, the blood pouring onto her shirt, her legs. Tears were stinging in his eyes; don't leave me. Please, Kat..don't leave me..
Alex suddenly shoved Sammuel out of the way, gripping the back of Kat's head, placin a bowl under her mouth, her other hand on Kat's stomach. She took a shaky breath, then closed her eyes. They screamed at the same time, Alex pulling away suddenly. The bowl clattered to the ground, Kat falling limply on the ground, a sickening sound of bone against stone ringing in all their ears. Blood pooled around her. Alex was holding her hand and gasping for breath, staring at horror at Kat. Sammy running to Kat's side and lifting her into his lap.
“What the hell!?” he growled, his eyes narrowed as they fixed on Alex's face. She continued to gasp, and didn't say anything. She fell to her knees, bowing her head and intwining her fingers. She whispered frantically.
“What are you doing!? What's going on! She's dying! Heal her!”
Alex didn't lift her head.
Kat started to grow still.
Realization dawned on him.
“No..oh God..no.”
“...Do not let the wicked go unpunished...and heal those who have grown sick..”
“Save her! Why can't you save her!”
“Her heart is too weak.”
His face fell, all thoughts washed away. Alex looked up to Kat, her eyes pained. “She doesn't have the will to live for much longer. Say what you have to say to her, Sammuel. The poison's already made it to her heart. She's basically gone now.” she looked at his face, swallowing, touching his hand. “I'm so sorry...there's nothing I can do.”
“No.” he gasped. His world came wheeling to a stop, and he lifted the still Kat so her head was under his chin. He held her close, closing his eyes, his shoulders shaking. Alex got up slowly, walking away silently.
“I'm so sorry.” he whispered, his fingers stroking her hair. “I wish this didn't happen to you..I'm so sorry.”
A shadow fell upon him, a dark figure at the corner of his eye. He paused, looking over at it. A long cloak shielded all of the figure's skin, a hood casting the face in an eclipse.
“I can save her.” said the dark, deep voice. The stolid tone, giving nothing of his intentions.
“Who are you!?” Sammy demanded, holding Kat protectively as if she still needed it.
“A doctor. She's dying. Any longer you delay she'll be too far gone to be healed.”
He looked at Kat in his arms, his eyes worried, concerned, suspicious. He nodded slowly, “Please.”
The cloak knelt next to them, a sleeve digging into the insides of it's dark depths under the folds of fabric, then pulled out a small vile, lifted her pant leg to see the wound, then poured the contents onto it. Smoke rose, smell of burning skin hanging in the air, the wound starting to knit together. He stared at it, his mouth dropping open.
“Oh my God...how did you-”
“It will take a few days for her to heal completely. Take care of her.”
Sammy looked at him, his brow furrowed. “How did you know where the gun wound was?”
The figure turned the black hood towards him, then was gone. Sammuel blinked, staring at the empty air the shadow was just kneeling in. Kat coughed once again, but this time he was relieved. It was a sign of life.


She woke as if she were being roused in the middle of the night after only a few hours of sleep. Her head was fuzzy and she continuously fell into sleep before being jolted away by the slightest change in her surroundings; someone moving upstairs, someone speaking in whispers, someone closing the blinds. She didn't know what she had gotten herself into-she couldn't remember why she was here, or why her leg was covered in dried blood. She couldn't remember any of that. She also couldn't remember why she felt like she had just thrown up.
She sat up slowly, her head spinning, her body swaying in the effort. A hand touched her back, and another her collar bone.
“Easy,” a female voice said, warning her. Katara finally roused enough energy to send her senses out, the slight vibrations going up through the body before her and being sent out to be able to 'see' the room around her. The girl before her was a healer (the one that had survived, perhaps?). She wasn't much older than Kat and sat worried next to her, supporting Kat's weight in her hands as she sat up. Kat smiled faintly, “Hi.” her voice was hoarser than she had expected, her throat so dry that it felt as if a desert had made it's home there. She imagined a lizard crawling out of her throat and shivered, pushing the thought away.
“Water.” she asked, sticking to one word each time she spoke. The pain of speaking was unbearable. The girl nodded, then stood, hesitating, then walking out of Kat's sense of range. She wasn't strong enough to see out of the room yet, and even that was a stretch. She felt a form enter the room, the build of the person and the walk familiar. A smile split her face. “Sammy?” she croaked.
“Hey.” he said softly, coming to her side. He sat next to her, his head tilted so that she guessed he was looking at the floor, and fidgeted with his hands. She stopped herself from inquiring-after all, she shouldn't be able to know what he was doing. She leaned back against the couch again, laying on her side so that she faced him. “What..happened?” she asked in a tiny voice, wincing at the pain. Where was that water?
“You uh..don't remember anything?”
The muscles in his mouth twitching before finishing the sentence told her he was going to say something else, but she kept her mouth shut, shaking her head instead. She tapped her throat and rasped, “Hurts.”
He smiled faintly, “But do you?”
She nodded, and made a motion with her hand to say “kinda”. As she moved her hand again the vibrations went up through his chest, his lungs heaving a silent release of breath and he shrugged, rubbing his forehead. There was somethings he didn't want to tell her if she couldn't remember. She made some motions with her hand-the few words she knew in sign language.
“What is it?” she signed. He wasn't looking but the motion caught his eye. He asked her to say it again. She repeated it, “What's wrong?” Being her closet friend he had learned how to understand her in this state. He shook his head, “Nothing. Don't worry bout it. Can you sign what you remember?” His voice betrayed his feelings. Something was definitely wrong. She let out a groan, wishing a moment later that she hadn't. Where was that water!?
“No,” she signed, “Too many..” she paused to think, then finished, “Words.”
He nodded, glancing away from her. She rubbed her temples, swinging her legs over the couch. If the water wasn't coming to her, she was going to it. Sammy looked shocked, standing quickly.
“Kat, I don't think that's such a-”
She waved him away, shaking her head. “Fine.” she murmured, pushing herself up. The world spun wildly, and her erratic steps gave her only glimpses of the room. A couch to her right, table to her left, and-what the hell is that!?
“Kat-wait!” But it was too late. Her foot went into some sort of liquid, still slightly warm. She jumped back and stumbled onto the table, glass cracking under her sudden weight. Wasn't that just great? Luckily she managed to stay pretty safe, Sammy gripping her wrist before she fell to hard on the table and whipped her back up.
“What was that!?” she hurriedly signed, facing him.
“Um..soup.”
If she could, she'd blink in confusion.
“Soup?” she breathed, not knowing the word in sign language.
“Yes. Soup. Sit back down and I'll clean it off your foot.”
“Ohmygod did she just-” gasped a voice just out of the room.
“Step into the soup? Yeah. She did. Sorry bout that. She's blind and all.”
Kat tried not to snarl at him. She hated when he said that. She sat nonetheless, however, pointing sightly off to the side of the table and a bit too low.
“Crack.” she whispered.
“Oh. Right, sorry bout that, Alex. She kinda broke your table.”
Alex, the healer, at last stepped into the room with the glass of water. Her tense muscles, clenched jaw, and increased pulse told Kat she wasn't to pleased. But hey, she thought smugly to herself, she was blind after all.
Alex walked to Kat's side and jammed the cup into her hand so that a few drops hit Kat's stomach, drenching it. As she breathed her thanks, she found the shirt somewhat stiff and unwilling to move. She reached to the side and a bit too high of Sammy, feeling out for him even though she knew exactly where he was. He touched her hand, “Yes?”
She signed, “What is this?” and touched her shirt. Something stained her hand when she did so and she raised it to her nose and sniffed it.
She would know that smell anywhere.
Blood.
Speaking of which..the smell of blood was everywhere. Overwhelming, even. How could she have not noticed it before? It's all over her, in that strange bowl-
She went tense.
She took a gulp of water as Alex and Sammy were mouthing things like, “What can was say?” “I dunno, you decide!” “I ain't some specialist on this! You are!” “I'm not her friend!”
“I stepped in blood!?” she hollered out with her knew found voice. Her voice was wild, making up for the lack of wild eyes. Both of them froze.
“Uh..” they said in unison, glancing at each other.
“Who's is it!?” She demanded, taking another great gulp to keep her throat from being dry.
“Um..” the two said, becoming nervous.
“Who's. Is. It!?” she growled, crossing her arms.
“Oh, to hell with it!” Alex cried, throwing up her arms. Sammy waved his hands, trying to tell her to stop it. Alex ignored him, “It's yours. You've thrown it up and have been bleeding all over my couch.”
Kat shot her a wannabe glare. “Well, I'm terribly sorry to intrude. Would you have rather me bleed all over your carpet? Oh, no, I don't think you'd like that at all. Maybe outside, if that'd convenience you better.”
Alex scowled, “At least I didn't let you die!”
“Yeah? Well I hope I didn't get your hands bloody.” she hissed back. She gulped her water again, draining it.
Sammy rubbed his forehead, cutting Alex off quickly, “Alright. That's enough. Kat, she did save you.”
She grumbled something dark under her breath and lay back on the bed. After a sigh, she finally apologized.
“I'm sorry. I've got a killer headache. And I'm obviously low on blood. Dunno if that affects me at all though.” she shrugged and rubbed her temple. What she wouldn't say is that she actually was lying. She just knew too much bout the girl than anyone should.
Sammy leaned forward and touched Kat's foot gently with a cloth, causing her to flinch, not expecting to be touched. He smiled kindly, “Sorry, just washing your foot.”
She relaxed slowly, nodding. “Alright. Thanks.”
Alex leaned against the table's legs, the glass glistening with new found divisions. Then the door flew open and someone shouted for Alex. Her face went white. There was a stumble and Sammy stopped rubbing the blood off Kat's foot. He instead stared at the door that was somewhere out of Kat's sight.
“Dhamnvigs drewmeh owt..again.” mumbled a deep voice. Kat sucked in a breath and extended her senses, the vibrations exiting the room with a flick of her wrist, crawling up the man who couldn't stand steady. A glass bottle was clenched in his hand, liquids swashing around loudly enough a deaf person could even make it out. Her face distorted with disgust when she found he wore no shirt, he was unshaven, and his posture was aggressive. She suddenly took back everything she had thought and said about Alex.
“Dad. Have you been drinking?”
“Nohnofyer business!” he howled, stumbling into the room they all sat in. He took a drink and pointed with the bottle to Sammy and Kat.
“Who'stis den?”
“Kids from school dad.” Alex's heart rate had increased drastically, her hands fidgeting in her lap. “They, um..came over to uh..help me with homework.”
“Oh?” he took another drink. “Teh tablez'roken.” he slurred. It was a miracle Alex could make out his words, Kat had the strain just to make out half.
“Um..yes-”
“Wuzant dahquestion! Who'rokeit!?”
Alex was stuck in her silence, trying to work up enough courage to face her father, when Kat spoke up, standing up and positioning herself squarely before him.
“I did, sir.”
He took another drink, “Diyounow? A perttywiddle dingwikeyou? Whazdat alloweryershirt?”
Damn, she cursed bitterly to herself.
“Paint, sir.” she said quickly, barely catching his words as Alex looked up at her in shock.
“You'rokemhy taublewhie?” Another drink. The liquid was almost gone. “Andwhazatoveryour eyes, gerl? Taukeit oph.”
“I did not mean to break it,” she said after a pause to understand him. “And I cannot take it off, Mr...?”
“Mstr.Gahnawheatyer-”
“Dad?”
“Wot!?” he howled, turning to face her. Kat stiffened; he was getting more and more aggressive.
“Can I talk to you?”
He scowled, turning and striding out of the room. Alex stood and walked after him, fidgeting again. Screams and shouts came from the other room and Kat struggled to sit down and send out her senses that far. Sammy touched her hand, “Why'd you do that?”
She didn't answer, to intent in trying to make out the two in the room a few doors down were saying. Then a hand hit a cheek and a young, teenage girl fell to the floor. Kat shot up, walking to the door and pulling it open.
“Bathroom?” she asked, and if she had eyes they would be narrowed angrily at her 'father'. Not much of a father she thought. The man threw the bottle at her and she ducked under it expertly. She was able to tell by his stance, his shift in weight, where he was going to throw it. His eyes widened, “Howtehhell-!?”
“Does your daughter not go to a school for specials?”
He shot Alex a meaningful glare, “HOWDAWRE YO-”
“Mom has me go!” she cried out quickly, shielding her face as a blow was to come down on her. His hand caught suddenly on fire. The man let out a less-than-fatherly scream and held his hand, trying to blow it out. Sammy now stood next to Kat, shaking his head.
“You are not much of a father. You hit your own daughter?”
“Sheh dehservesit! Nohw gehowtove familyahffhairs!” he hollered, swinging to hit Sammy. Sammy gripped his fist and shook his head, holding his hands behind his back and holding a phone to the father's ear.
“Get all that, officer?” Sammy asked.
“Yes, sir. We'll be right down.”
Click.
Sammy cocked an eyebrow at the man who started to shout and yell, thrashing about.
“Ghetophmeh youdahmned bohy!”
Kat kneeled next to Alex as she began to heal her own wounds. Kat touched her cheek softly, “I'm so sorry. How long has this gone on?”
“Since the divorce.” she replied just above a whisper.
“How long ago was that?”
Alex hesitated, tears starting to flow down her cheeks. “F-four y-years ag-go.” Then full out sobbing. Kat embraced her tightly, rubbing her back gently, “Shh..shh..everything will be alright now. Don't you worry. Everything will be better. Did your mother know?”
“I n-never t-told her...he-he said he'd hurt h-her t-too.”
Kat smiled sadly, nodding. “Alright. Alright, shh. Don't you worry about it. Things'll get better.”
Sirens came into ear-shot and the father broke out of Sammy's strong grip, and ran out. Alex cried harder, and Kat shouted, “Watch him, Sammy! Keep the phone with you!”
He nodded and ran out.
Kat hugged Alex tighter, “See? Everything will be fine.”
She nodded and slowly stopped crying, smiling at Kat. “T-thanks. How d-did you know we were h-here?”
Kat paused, then answered quickly, “My hearing's better than most.” She smiled and Alex accepted the response.
“Thank y-you. That was very kind..and brave,” she added.
Then a shot rang through the silence that followed. Alex's father, later named as a John, was shot in the arm. He laid in his own blood spiked with alcohol for minutes before the police found him.
He was dead within seconds.