Inner Demons

"Delia, shut up!" Nadine hissed, smacking the back of her head.

Delia rubbed her hair, "I don't know what to look for!" she cried.

"Any pill bottles with Gerard's name on them, he's going to need it." Nadine explained, wrapping Gerard in a blanket.

Delia dug around, pocketing several bottles, and picked up some slips of paper, "What about these?"

Nadine glanced over, "What are they?"

"Prescriptions, but I can't make out who it's for and what it's for," she sighed, holding the paper close to her face.

Nadine shrugged, "Bring it anyway, we'll figure out what to do with it later,"

Delia smiled and collected the bottles and papers into her bag and went over to the bed. Gerard was sitting up, a small smile on his face. "You think you can get into this on your own Gee?"

He shook his head, still unable to talk. Nadine put her arms around his waist. "Delia, move his legs and I'll get him down."

Delia nodded and did as she was told. After a bit of struggling they managed to get Gerard out of the bed and into the wheelchair. "Now what?" Delia asked.

"We need to wait... they change shifts in... 20 minutes, we'll go then."

She nodded and sat down on the bed, twirling the IV needle between her fingers. "Would you stop?" she heard Gerard crack.

She looked over at him, he'd been of his meds for less then five minutes, and he already sounded better. Delia smiled and set it down on the bed, before laying down as well. "Jesus Christ Gee! How did you sleep on this thing?" she questioned, rubbing her back.

He shrugged his shoulders, "Used to it I guess,"

Nadine rested her head on her fist, staring around the tiny room, "How are we gonna get out of here?"

"Call Bob, or Frank..." Delia answered.

"But, Del, we ran away, they'll be so angry,"

"They'll get over it, besides, we rescued Gerard," she said finally, crossing her arms.

Nadine nodded in understanding, before asking another question, "What will wee do if Gee gets sick, or when he needs to have the pins in his wrist removed, or the stitches or..."

Delia cut her off by raising a hand, "There are like, 7 million hospitals around here, calm down,"

Nadine bit her lip, "But they all his medical records... what if they find him?"

Delia rolled her eyes, "What's the worst they can do? He's being abused here, I don't think they'll do anything,"

Nadine nodded half-heartedly, "I'm gonna call Bob," she muttered, going into the bathroom adjacent to Gerard's room.

Delia crawled out of the bed and went over to Gerard, who looked like he was pondering something. "Whatcha thinking?"

Gerard looked up at her, "My arms hurt," he answered simply, before hanging his head.

Delia sighed and rubbed his back slowly, "You'll feel better when we get you home,"

Gerard sighed, "That place isn't home... it's hell,"

Delia rubbed his leg, "I know it's tough Gee, but you'll be okay... none of us will let you get hurt,"

Gerard narrowed his gaze, "How the fuck do you explain these?" he hissed, holding up his arms.

Delia sighed, "I don't know what to say Gee,"

Nadine came back into the room, "Come on, let's go, Bob's waiting out front,"

Delia gulped, "What did he say?"

"Not much, he's just glad we're safe," she explained.

Gerard looked up at them, "How are we gonna pull this one off?"

Delia stepped into the hallway, "It's clear, come on,"

Nadine pushed Gerard hurriedly out of the room, the three of them darting behind walls and into empty room whenever a doctor walked past. They made it successfully to the bottom floor, and then from there it was how to leave that puzzled them. "Isn't there like a back entrance we can use?" Delia asked.

Gerard looked up, "Go down that purple hallway, it's the ambulance entrance.

Nadine raised an eyebrow, "And how do you know this?"

Gerard smirked, "I remember it from they brought me here... I really liked the color,"

Delia giggled, "I never quite got you Gerard,"

He shot her a charming smile and they raced out of the open, deserted corridor. Once they were safely outside, they wandered a few minutes, before they saw Bob flagging them down in the parking lot. They raced over, trying their best to not be spotted. Once they made it to the car, they loaded Gerard in and then found themselves staring at the wheelchair, "What do we do with it?" Nadine asked.

Bob hit a small button on the side and it collapsed. He shoved it in the trunk and they all got into the car. Bob drove away quickly, and it wasn't they were about a mile away, that he slowed down, "You two are crazy,"

Delia scoffed, "You should have seen that doctor, Gerard is lucky!"

"Yeah!" Nadine yelled from the backseat.

Bob rolled his eyes and turned on the radio. A smooth female voice came on, "And local officials are advising residents to be cautious and to avoid trees and power lines. IN national news, a derailed train..."

Delia blinked, "What's going on?"

Bob shrugged, "They've been saying some huge ice storm is supposed to pass through tonight, but, it's LA! I'm not so worried."

Nadine nodded and rubbed Gerard's hair, watching as dark clouds rolled around in the distance. Bob pulled into the long driveway, glancing into the backseat. Nadine was staring mindlessly out the window, and Gerard was sleeping on her shoulder. Delia gave a tiny squeal as a gentle rumble of thunder sounded outside, "I love big storms," she whispered, smiling as thick drops began to pelt the window. Bob parked the car and he and Nadine helped Gerard get out whole Delia struggled setting the wheelchair back up. Finally, Bob had to step in and they pulled Gerard into the seat, rushing him into the house, away from the cold, heavy rain. Ray was walking past when they entered, and looked torn between joy and sorrow. But he ran over to them anyway, "Gerard! You're alright! What are you doing home?"

Gerard looked up, "I got tired of that place... Can I go lay down now?"

Nadine laughed lightly, "Yeah sure, I;m taking Gerard up okay?" she announced, before she stopped herself.

"Umm, how are we gonna get Gerard to his room?"

They glanced between one another, and finally, everyone's gaze fell on Gerard. Bob bent down and scooped Gerard into his arms, cradling him, "You've lost weight," he muttered, walking towards the staircase.

They other followed, just making sure Bob kept his balance. Once they reached the third floor, Ray took him, carrying him into his room. Nadine drew back the covers and Ray placed him gently on the bed, "Do you need anything?" he asked.

Gerard chewed the inside of his cheek, "Will someone stay in here... I don't like being alone,"

Nadine raised her hand slowly, "I'll do it,"

The guys shrugged and headed out of the room, leaving Delia and Nadine alone with Gerard, "Delia, do you have his medicine?"

She nodded and tossed Nadine her canvas bag. Nadine reached into her hoodie pocket, pulling out a small slip of paper. Delia eyed it, "What is that?"

"Pill chart, lets us know what to give him, how much to give him, and when to give it to him," she said proudly.

Delia smiled, "Nice, I'll go get him some water,"

Delia left for a only a few seconds, returning with a glass of cold water. Gerard watched silently as they counted out the dose and brought them over, "Open up," Nadine cooed, shaking the pills in her hand.

Gerard groaned, but then complied, taking the water from Delia. He swallowed them a grimace, before curling up underneath the sheets, "I'm gonna go back to sleep... is that okay?"

Nadine nodded, "Of course babe, you need it,"

Gerard smiled and closed his eyes. Nadine turned to Delia, "Umm, can you, you know, leave? Please? I haven't really been alone with him yet,"

Delia nodded, feeling a small twinge of pain, but then she noticed the soft blue lights in the pool. Swimming always cleared her mind, after all, she was one of the best swimmers at her school. She slipped out of the room and into hers, changing into a suit and grabbing some other necessities. She wrapped a towel around her chest and crept down the stairs, before creeping into the courtyard. She tossed he shoes and towel to one side, slinking into the warm water. She swam around, perfecting her stroke, counting her kicks. She could feel the cold rain from the sky, and her the wild wind and lightning. She dove down to the deep end, allowing her fingers to dance along the bottom. She then flipped over and kicked upwards, popping to the surface like a bottle. She watched as the trees whipped around, the branches wrapped in a thick layer of ice. "What the?" she asked herself.

The branches drooped, and one tiny sapling was completely uprooted, while other tree's lost branches, and they crashed down to the earth with loud booms. Delia quickly swam to the shallow end and got out, gasping out at the sudden cold. She wrapped the towel around her, nearly being crushed by a large oak limb. She rushed inside, slamming into Frank, 'Delia, what are you doing?" he asked, confusedly.

"I was..." Delia started, but she was cut off by a loud crack.

There was flashed of lights, in various colors, followed by strange popping noises, then, everything became dark.
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Nadine ran her hand over Gerard's still form, feeling his chest rising and falling beneath her hand. She absently-mindedly made her way up to his hair, raking it between her fingers, singing gently. She was treating him like any good mother would treat her sick child, and for some reason, she found comfort in that fact and continued doing so. She watched outside, as rain and ice built up on the windows, making the world blurry. She could see flashes of light in the distance, lightning she supposed. Gerard gave a gentle whimper and rolled over, so he could look up Nadine's face. She sighed and stroked his face, "Go back to sleep,"

He smiled, "I can't,"

Nadine rolled her eyes and turned on the light, "You know, you're not gonna get better unless you sleeeeeeeeeeeep," she explained, exaggerating her words.

Gerard shook his head, "I'll get better in time, as long as I have you," he purred.

Nadine leaned in closer, "Oh really?" she laughed, before placing her lips against his.

Gerard managed to pull himself upright and leaned into Nadine, kissing passionately. She gave a quiet moan and sucked on his bottom lip, before pulling away, "Feeling better?" she whispered.

Gerard nodded, "Better everyday,"

Nadine smiled and gently pushed him back onto the bed, "You guys are acting like I nearly died or something!" he snapped.

Nadine rubbed his hand, "Gerard, you're heart stopped for almost 2 minutes... you did die,"

He blinked, his eyes growing wider, "Huh?"

Nadine kissed his forehead, "It okay though, you're okay,"

He glanced away, "I guess that explains a lot,"

She sighed softly, "Gerard, you're alright, you're safe now,"

"You think I'm safe in this house? You honestly think that?" he snapped, his eyes glowing.

Nadine backed off a bit, "Well, you're safer at this house,"

Gerard rolled his eyes, "Whatever you say honey,"

Nadine sighed and brought his hand to her chest. Gerard watched in confusion as Nadine placed it just above her right breast, allowing Gerard to feel her heart beating beneath her skin. She stared at him, "I will protect you until this stops beating, I promise,"

Gerard nodded meekly and glanced over at the window as a large oak branch came crashing down, "That storm is intense," he whispered.

Nadine nodded and was about to say something, when they both heard a large crack and lights flickered wildly. Gerard stared around in pure panic, then the lights shut off. Nadine gripped her and and crawled into the bed with him, shielding her body with his. She could hear him crying and whimpering in fear, his body shaking violently. Nadine cooed in comfort, "Shhhh, the power just's gone out, you'll be okay."

She could hear bodies racing up the stair and watched as the door opened, a set of flashlights shining the bed, "Nadine?" Frank asked confusedly.

"Gerard is scared shitless, we need to get him out of here," she explained, gripping her chest.

Ray nodded and went over to the bed, allowing Gerard to crawl into his grasp, "What's going on?" Gerard asked weakly, tears still pouring out of his eyes.

"Power's gone out... Brian went down to the basement, see if we've blown a fuse,"

Gerard nodded and curled into Ray, whimpering, "We're all int he library, Bob's trying to start a fire, " Frank explained to his sister as they followed behind Ray.

Nadine nodded gently, "What's going on?"

Frank sighed, 'They are saying this storm is worse than they thought, tree are falling over, houses are catching on fire, power lines are down everywhere, nearly half the city has no power,"

Nadine gasped, "I thought this was just a thunderstorm!"

Frank shook his head, "The rain froze before it could become snow, this is an ice storm,"

Nadine sniffed a bit and they soon found themselves inside the library, where Delia was stacking up wood by the large fireplace, and Brian was staring out the window. Ray set Gerard down on the couch, covering him with a blanket. Brian turned to them, "Mikey's just called, his hotel's power went out too, he's gonna try to find a way over here,"

Delia shot up, "No! The roads are too icy, and with the power out... he'll die Brian!"

He shrugged, "I don't know what to do,"

Frank rubbed his forehead, "Well, did you fix the fuse?"

Brian sighed, "The power is out and judging by the one in the Mideast last year, its gonna stay out,"

Frank sighed, "Fuck,"

Ray sat down on the floor, watching as the logs slowly caught fire, "Was there anything else in the basement, candles or something?"

Brian nodded, "But don't think I'm going back down there!"

Delia scoffed, "Pansy, I'll go... who wants to come with?"

Frank reluctantly raised his hand and the two of them marched down to the basement, with mere flashlights guiding their way. They finally reached the bottom stench, the overwhelming smell of decay flooding their noses. Frank grimaced, "Let's just find the candles then leave,"

Delia nodded hurriedly and two searched, finally finding an old chest, opened slightly. Frank flipped open the lid, finding various candles and torch. He lifted the chest up and followed Delia up the stairs. "Fuck this is heavy," he groaned.

Delia giggled and they wandered into the library, setting the chest down with a large bang. Bob and Nadine grabbed handful of candle and began setting them up around the room. Delia was digging through the chest, when her hand collided with something soft. She fished it out and saw that is was a tiny leather satchel, engraved with a large 'P'. She held it up, "Do you guys have any idea what this could be?"

Ray went over to her, taking it from her hands. He opened the satchel, and pulled out papers, "These are deeds to this house, owned by Maria Paramour."

Delia paused and glanced over at the fire, seeing a woman's face smile, then vanish.