In the Eyes of the Beholder (Part 7)
Hi there. Sorry about that. Work was hell for a while but I am now a little more less overwhelmed so I decided to pick-up where I left off with this fic. I am thinking two to three parts and this one will be done. Behind a cut because of suicidal thoughts and blood
The second time that Charles got lose was when Raven turned his back on him after removing the restraints to give him a sponge bath. Erik had entered to find both Raven and Hank out cold on the floor and no sign of Charles to be found. He checked the bodies on the floor to make sure they were alive. He left the make-shift infirmary to find the boys to help him find Charles when he heard a commotion coming from the direction of the kitchen.
He ran in to find Sean and Alex wrestling with Charles who had a knife to his own throat. All three men were slipping on the floor which was covered in blood. Erik quickly removed the knife from Charles’ hand with a thought. Sean and Alex took Charles to the ground who was still screaming that they had to kill him before ‘He’ showed up.
Then Erik witnessed the oddest thing. Charles seems to change in front of his eyes. The warm face grew cold and the eyes became very calculating. He could sense a chill in the air that had not been there before. Erik knew in the depths of his soul that this was Charles if he had taken Shaw’s path and this was not a good thing.
All of the sudden all three men gripped their heads in pain. They screamed as Charles laughed and sprinted off out of the kitchen. Becoming unconscious was a blessing.
Erik came to with Raven shaking him calling his name. He sat up slowly because he didn’t want to move his head too fast. He looked around. Hank was tending to Alex’s arm which had been badly cut in the fight. Moria was helping Sean to a chair and got him a glass of water. Raven helped Erik do the same.
“What happened?” asked Moria.
“Charles happened all over our asses” replied Alex.
“How did he get out of the infirmary?” asked Sean.
Hank said “That would be my fault. We were giving him a sponge bath and he took over our bodies for just a split second and bolted.”
“Now we have to find him before he does more damage to himself or others” said Erik.
“Or us” added Sean.
They split up into groups of three. Sean, Angel, and Hank had the grounds, Moria, Riptide and Alex had the house, and Erik and Raven took the woods and other areas that couldn’t be seen from the air. Azazel went to check out the town to make sure that Charles hadn’t made it that far.
Raven muttered “I’m going to kill him when we find him. How dare he?”
“So you are going to fulfill his death wish?”
“Not what I meant Erik” after a pause she said “Look, I think I know where he is going. We had a treehouse that we build out here in the forest. We were the only two people to know about its existence.”
“That’s a place to start. Lead on.”
Raven took him deep into the woods on the property “He use to come out here when he wanted time to be totally alone.”
They followed what Erik realized was a very overgrown path to a clearing. There was a rotten rope ladder leading up to a treehouse. Raven shimmed up the ladder and into the treehouse.
“He’s here and he’s not in good shape” shouted Raven.
Erik used the metal in his shoes to levitate up to the platform leading into the house because he didn’t trust the rope.
He found Raven with Charles’ head in her lap. His eyes were rolled up in his head and he was muttering at a rapid rate. Erik could pick up a word here and there but most of it was gibberish. He picked Charles up and could feel the heat radiating off his skin. He was burning up from the inside out.
They got him back to the infirmary and Hank went to work to try to get the fever down along with dressing the small cuts and contusions that covered the surface of Charles’ pale skin.
The next day the fever broke and the Charles he knew returned. Still blind and with no memory of what had happened. Erik breathed a sigh of relief and put Charles’ out of character behavior to the fever.
Hank found him with Moria in the study and ruined his peace of mind for him.
“Erik, it is his brain. It is trying to heal itself and in doing so, it very well may kill him in the process.”
“What?”
“The brain is a funny thing. We don’t understand most of what goes on up there. Charles’ brain is probably different than any other brain on the planet considering what he can do with it.”
“And?”
“There really isn’t an ‘and’ in this. I barely have a grasp on what his brain can do. All I do know that if things continue like this we are going to be planning his funeral.”
Erik’s stomach sank at the thought of a world without Charles in it. He hadn’t known him very long but Charles had filled such an emptiness in his life he hadn’t known he had.
He had been thrilled when Charles’ finally opened his eyes again. Charles still couldn’t see but he was Charles again.
This had been short lived. He got his friend back for less than a day when the next fit came upon Charles and they descended into the next level of hell.
The second time that Charles got lose was when Raven turned his back on him after removing the restraints to give him a sponge bath. Erik had entered to find both Raven and Hank out cold on the floor and no sign of Charles to be found. He checked the bodies on the floor to make sure they were alive. He left the make-shift infirmary to find the boys to help him find Charles when he heard a commotion coming from the direction of the kitchen.
He ran in to find Sean and Alex wrestling with Charles who had a knife to his own throat. All three men were slipping on the floor which was covered in blood. Erik quickly removed the knife from Charles’ hand with a thought. Sean and Alex took Charles to the ground who was still screaming that they had to kill him before ‘He’ showed up.
Then Erik witnessed the oddest thing. Charles seems to change in front of his eyes. The warm face grew cold and the eyes became very calculating. He could sense a chill in the air that had not been there before. Erik knew in the depths of his soul that this was Charles if he had taken Shaw’s path and this was not a good thing.
All of the sudden all three men gripped their heads in pain. They screamed as Charles laughed and sprinted off out of the kitchen. Becoming unconscious was a blessing.
Erik came to with Raven shaking him calling his name. He sat up slowly because he didn’t want to move his head too fast. He looked around. Hank was tending to Alex’s arm which had been badly cut in the fight. Moria was helping Sean to a chair and got him a glass of water. Raven helped Erik do the same.
“What happened?” asked Moria.
“Charles happened all over our asses” replied Alex.
“How did he get out of the infirmary?” asked Sean.
Hank said “That would be my fault. We were giving him a sponge bath and he took over our bodies for just a split second and bolted.”
“Now we have to find him before he does more damage to himself or others” said Erik.
“Or us” added Sean.
They split up into groups of three. Sean, Angel, and Hank had the grounds, Moria, Riptide and Alex had the house, and Erik and Raven took the woods and other areas that couldn’t be seen from the air. Azazel went to check out the town to make sure that Charles hadn’t made it that far.
Raven muttered “I’m going to kill him when we find him. How dare he?”
“So you are going to fulfill his death wish?”
“Not what I meant Erik” after a pause she said “Look, I think I know where he is going. We had a treehouse that we build out here in the forest. We were the only two people to know about its existence.”
“That’s a place to start. Lead on.”
Raven took him deep into the woods on the property “He use to come out here when he wanted time to be totally alone.”
They followed what Erik realized was a very overgrown path to a clearing. There was a rotten rope ladder leading up to a treehouse. Raven shimmed up the ladder and into the treehouse.
“He’s here and he’s not in good shape” shouted Raven.
Erik used the metal in his shoes to levitate up to the platform leading into the house because he didn’t trust the rope.
He found Raven with Charles’ head in her lap. His eyes were rolled up in his head and he was muttering at a rapid rate. Erik could pick up a word here and there but most of it was gibberish. He picked Charles up and could feel the heat radiating off his skin. He was burning up from the inside out.
They got him back to the infirmary and Hank went to work to try to get the fever down along with dressing the small cuts and contusions that covered the surface of Charles’ pale skin.
The next day the fever broke and the Charles he knew returned. Still blind and with no memory of what had happened. Erik breathed a sigh of relief and put Charles’ out of character behavior to the fever.
Hank found him with Moria in the study and ruined his peace of mind for him.
“Erik, it is his brain. It is trying to heal itself and in doing so, it very well may kill him in the process.”
“What?”
“The brain is a funny thing. We don’t understand most of what goes on up there. Charles’ brain is probably different than any other brain on the planet considering what he can do with it.”
“And?”
“There really isn’t an ‘and’ in this. I barely have a grasp on what his brain can do. All I do know that if things continue like this we are going to be planning his funeral.”
Erik’s stomach sank at the thought of a world without Charles in it. He hadn’t known him very long but Charles had filled such an emptiness in his life he hadn’t known he had.
He had been thrilled when Charles’ finally opened his eyes again. Charles still couldn’t see but he was Charles again.
This had been short lived. He got his friend back for less than a day when the next fit came upon Charles and they descended into the next level of hell.