due South snippet: "Waiting"

[luzula]

Title: Waiting
Pairing: F/K
Rating: R
Length: 296 words
Prompt: smooth
Summary: There was nothing to do but wait, now.
Warning: Angst. Character turning into zombie.
Notes: This is for akamine_chan, for obvious reasons (namely, her fascination with zombies). Thanks to keerawa for beta reading. The poem quoted is November, by Walter de la Mare.


Fraser turned the key on the handcuffs that held him to the sturdy frame of the bed, then threw the keys into the living room.

The cuffs were cold and smooth against his wrists. Nothing to do but wait, now.

There was a letter on the table for Ray, in case Fraser couldn't speak by the time Ray came back. Fraser didn't know how quickly the symptoms would progress.

If they would--he wasn't sure, yet. If he had been, he would've shot himself with his service revolver.

She had looked so young, and he'd thought she was lost. He'd looked up from his wood-chopping, to tell her the way to town.

She'd struck, fast as a coiled snake. A struggle, her clinging arms, the axe falling. She lay still.

Afterwards, he could see her grey-tinged skin, the crusted blood around her mouth, and the damage the axe had done. It took away one's mind, he knew that, and she hadn't been human anymore. Still, nausea rose in him. In the letter, he'd asked Ray to bury her body.

Fraser looked at the bite marks on his arm--deep, but not quite enough to draw blood.

The light had moved minutely over the bedroom floor. Why hadn't he put a book within reach before throwing the keys away? With his feet, he managed to fetch the poetry book on the bedside table.

He read, and waited for time to pass.

There is wind where the rose was,
Cold rain where sweet grass was.

Fraser blinked, losing the thread of the words. He tried to focus.

Nought warm where your hand was.

Soon, the letters were only black squiggles on the page, and he couldn't make sense of them. Fraser slowly put the book down.

Silence where hope was.

For now, please comment at the LJ entry.

Comments

[gloriana.livejournal.com]

Oh, go on - just break our hearts, do!

Loved the line that if he had been certain, he would have done the deed himself. And the poetry choice is, of course, wonderful.

[luzula]

Thank you! Yeah, I suppose this was designed to break people's hearts. I kind of creeped myself out writing it.

I'm glad you thought the poetry worked well.

[akamine_chan]

*sob*

Oh, Luz, this is absolutely fantastic, in a bitter, angstful way. I love it, of course.

And what's this about my fascination with zombies? *looks around* It's noticeable? Huh.

Love this so much. It's perfect. *adds to zombie post list*

eta: Zombie icon!

[luzula]

Oh, I'm so glad it worked for you. Actually, I never thought I'd write zombie fic. But then the idea came into my head to try, and I thought of this story in about five minutes. I think I get some of your fascination with the idea of zombies now (although I am still much more fascinated by werewolves).

And gah, that zombie icon is creepy.

[plotbunniofdoom]

Oh! Just oh.

*has no words*

[luzula]

Thank you! I hope the words come back for you (so that you don't share Fraser's fate...).

[kill-claudio.livejournal.com]

Ouch! But it's going to be ok, right? Ray will find a cure. *nods*

I love your opening line, the intrigue of why the hell Fraser is tying himself to the bed, and the way his first thoughts are about protecting Ray.

Oh, and I love Walter de la Mare. I was re-reading The Listeners just the other day, but I'd never read November before. Is it just me, or does he write a lot about loss?

[luzula]

It's open-ended? So you can imagine Ray finding a cure if you want.

I'm glad the opening lines worked!

I'd only read one poem by Walter de la Mare before (the one that starts "Who is it calling by the darkened river"--the title is "Voices"). I fell in love with that poem a long time ago, and actually set it to music and made harmonies for it and stuff (that was my mode of fannish engagement at the time). And when I was looking for a poem for this piece, I wanted something with the same melancholy feeling, and googled for more by the same author.

[mizface.livejournal.com]

What really breaks my heart in this is that Fraser losing the ability to read is how we see the symptoms progress. That was just brilliant.

And that he's alone just tears at me too.

This is gorgeous, start to finish, and so, so sad.

[luzula]

What really breaks my heart in this is that Fraser losing the ability to read is how we see the symptoms progress. That was just brilliant.

Thank you! That was the first part of the snippet that came to me, actually. And yeah, it was kind of heart-breaking for me, too.

[exbex.livejournal.com]

I love painfic :D This is so beautifully written, too.

[luzula]

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it. This is one of the angstiest things I've ever written, I suppose.

[sundayscat.livejournal.com]

As usual I’m in love with how you use language and the poetry fragments fit the story perfectly. For some reason zombies really creeps me out (and poor Ray coming home and finding that).

[luzula]

Thank you! I'm so glad to hear that the poetry worked. And yeah, zombies are pretty creepy, if you take them seriously and not as some kind of joke.

[laughingrat.livejournal.com]

Found this originally through my network page at DW. I read it last night and can't stop thinking about it. It kinda broke my heart. Reckon that's the sort of thing a writer wants to hear, that their story is moving like that.

[luzula]

Hey, thank you so much for telling me. I mean, I'm sorry if it disturbed you, but at the same time, I am glad that it had the power to move you like that.

[laughingrat.livejournal.com]

No, it's a good thing, the disturbing I mean. Like, fic doesn't always have to be sappy, and actually, watching Fraser's mind go like that (*shudder*!) reminded me that his mind is ultimately the most interesting part about him. Well, he's awful cute, too. ;)

(I'm real new to dS fandom--a pal got me to watch a few eps and I can definitely see the appeal of the show, but wouldn't call myself a True Fan yet.)

[luzula]

Oh, I'm glad it wasn't the bad type of disturbance. And yes, I am a big fan of Fraser's mind. : )

And hey, welcome to the fandom! It's a very welcoming place, and there's lots of awesome fic.