The Drug

Written by Zelda

 

                Mallory screamed as she fell back to the floor, hitting hard and rolling. She stumbled to her knees as Siege came trampling after her like a two-legged rhinoceros. Mallory stumbled to her feet, feeling the pain run up her back where she was struck seconds ago. Nearby, her teammates were chasing or being chased around by the Saurians, who had decided to go 'shopping' at the mall across the street from the Pond. Mallory looked around frantically for a place to hide, or maybe a big metal bar she could hit Siege with. Neither for the moment. She growled and turned back. Siege still paced towards her and raised his laser gun. Mallory prepared to be hit, but instead, she felt a huge blow to her head. Siege withdrew his fist as Mallory wavered and fell to the ground.

                "Out cold." he grinned. "What an idiot." Siege reached into a pouch he carried and took out a needle. He tapped the air bubbles out of it carefully and squeezed some clear fluid out of the tip. Then, he stabbed it mercilessly into the base of Mallory's neck. The pain caused her to cringe. She'd wake up soon. But Siege's job was done. He pulled the needle out, and pocketed it again. Then he turned around and stomped off. He had other things to do.

 

                Duke swatted a hunter drone in half with his saber, sending the two pieces to the ground, sparking wildly. He looked over the heap to see Wildwing about ten feet away, ducking as Wraith flung fireballs at him. Suddenly, Grin wheeled in from behind and punched the frail Saurian in the back. Wraith flattened and disappeared in his own smoke. Wildwing was up and prodding around in it, but Wraith had disappeared. He snorted and turned away. Duke suddenly looked away as laser blasts hit the ground not too far away from him. Chameleon laughed and fired again. The laser glanced off of Duke's sword and hit the Captain Comics sign, sending the huge robot superhero's arm crashing to the ground.

                "Great, Dive's gonna love that one." Duke thought to himself. He turned back and faced the Chameleon. "When I get my hands on you, you scrawny little excuse for a lizard---" he started, coming forwards. Chameleon laughed and turned into a prisoner, complete with the striped uniform and a ball and chain.

                "I know I know, you're gonna lock me up and wring my neck. I've heard it all before." he started, morphing back. "But we ain't done yet boys!" he said, morphing into a football coach. He blew the whistle on his neck shrilly, and a line of three hunter drones appeared next to him. "Now boys, let's blow one up for the kipper!" Duke gasped and ran as the three came charging at him.

 

                Nosedive just had the time to shoot at one of those drones as he turned around, caught up in his own mess.

                "Mal, I could use your help here!" he yelled to the still unconscious figure on the ground. Siege circled around him, huffing and puffing. He was wearing out.

                "Now you're gonna pay for ruining my fav shop!" Dive yelled. Suddenly, Wraith appeared in a puff of smoke, rubbing his back.

                "Let's move Siege!" he called.

Siege looked at him and sighed. "We'll finish this later Duck." he snarled, and teleported away with Wraith.

                "Great!" Dive yelled back as he left. "Then you'll owe me interest!" He stood, catching his breath, as the team came up to him.

                "What happened to Mal?" Zelda asked, alarmed.

                "I found her here with Siege." Dive replied. Wildwing stooped down to pick Mal up, but she was already waking.

                "Ouch." she said, rubbing her head.

                "You okay?" asked Tanya.

                "Yea, just a little bumped up." Mallory replied, standing slowly and dusting herself off.

                "Anybody see anything the Saurians were after?" Wildwing asked, looking around.

                "Not really." Grin said.

                "Yeah." Tanya agreed.

                "Right, me neither." Wildwing sighed.

                "So why did they decide to show up?" Nosedive asked.

                "Just to trash your comics shop." Duke grinned at him. Nosedive whacked him on the arm. Wildwing looked around for a moment.

                "You sure you're okay Mallory?" he asked.

                "Yes I'm sure." Mallory repeated.

                "Okay. Let's get back."

 

                "And be sure to hurry up! We've got practice in ten minutes and I don't feel like hearing it from your brother!" Mallory yelled after Nosedive, as he ran over to the re-opened Captain Comics. Zelda sneered at her and brushed her with her tail as if to indicate a motion of discipline.

                "I suppose I'd better tag along." she grinned. "I swear that poor kid's suffering from comic book withdrawal." she ran off after him. Mallory sighed and set her bags down on a bench on the edge of the alley next to Weiner World, right next to the mall entrance. She sat down heavily beside them. Staring across the way, she looked at a Coke machine and suddenly had a craving for a cherry cola. She turned around and started fumbling through her bag for some change. She glanced into the alley behind her, and saw something glittering at her from an area next to a deep green dumpster. She stared at it hard. It was almost like it was beckoning her. Mallory slowly got up and walked into the alley, kneeling carefully next to the dumpster. She ran her fingers through glittering slivers of glass, and saw among them a thin trace of white powder. She knew vaguely what it was: crack cocaine. She sniffed at it in disgust. But there was something about it... she stood staring at it for a long time.

                "Yo Mal! What did you say about being late for practice?" Nosedive's voice echoed behind her. Mallory stood up sharply and turned around to see Zelda coming towards her, with Nosedive behind, laden with comic books.

                "There you are. We gotta get back." Zelda said.

                "Okay, come on." Mallory said. She went back to the bench and got her things, as the two walked ahead of her, and out of the mall.

 

                Mallory sat in her bunk quietly after practice. She sighed loudly. Things had been bothering her. She'd felt weird these past few days. Two days since she'd been to the mall. She sighed again and glanced at her closet, thinking about finding an outfit that wouldn't show the bruise on her back, still left from where Siege had hit her. Evident blows were nothing short of normal for her though. Hey, she was a hockey player! But Mal was distracted. She couldn't get that picture of the shattered crack vial out of her head for some reason. It was like she had left something behind there. Could she... No, not it wasn't that at all. Mallory slapped herself mentally and got up. She went over and stared at herself in the mirror. Her hair was a mess! She took out a brush, and began to think again. No, it couldn't be that at all. She thought back to her time in the Puckworld Special Forces. They never allowed anything even relating to that kind of mess in their ranks. She hadn't been getting that much sleep lately. Yeah, that was it, she'd get more sleep.

 

                "Mal, we're going to get pizza, you wanna come?" Duke yelled from across the pavilion at the mall.

                "Umm.... nah I'll think I'll sit down for a bit." Mall said, heaving her bags down with a loud "Oomph." on a bench across from Weiner World.

                "Well, okay. Sure you don’t want anything?" Duke asked.

                "What are you planning on getting?"

                "Just a pie, half mushrooms."

                "Oh good, count me in on a slice of that." Mallory smiled. Duke nodded and joined the others as they walked off. Mal watched them carefully until they had gone around the corner and out of sight. She stood up rigidly. The alley was just across the way. She walked stiffly and quickly to the building. Good, she was there. She paused and looked to make sure no one had seen her, before she entered the alley. She knelt down carefully by the shattered glass again, and ran her fingers through the shards. The trace of white was a bit thinner now, the elements had claimed it. Suddenly, a gust of wind whipped around in the alley, swirling papers about. The thin white disappeared. Mallory breathed in sharply, being surprised by the sudden wind. Then something struck the back of her throat, her nostrils. Mallory gasped. Could it have been?... Mallory felt disgusted with herself, and she stood up sharply. But that hunger, that strange feeling within her that had bugged her more and more these days... was so slightly appeased in a way. Mal looked down, the glass was scattered about the alley, the white was gone. Mallory looked about frantically for a moment. Where?

                "There you are Mal, what are you hiding in there for?" Wildwing snapped the silence. Mallory spun around. The team was waiting for her. Wildwing and Zelda were approaching her.

                "Come on, let's take the pizza and head back to the Pond, looks like rain." Zelda said. Mallory looked up. Indeed, the sky had darkened considerably. Wildwing was already walking away. Mallory straightened herself and followed. Zelda paused and sniffed the air a bit, before she turned and headed back.

 

                Mallory sat up in bed, the blankets curled around her. It wasn't often that it felt uncomfortably cool in Anaheim, but it was one of those nights. It had been raining for a day and a half now. Mallory still couldn't forget. The image, the smell, the incredible sensation of being filled. Now the hunger had come back again... stronger. It gnawed away at her from the inside. She tried to eat, nothing had helped. Maybe she had a cold. Maybe that's why she felt so weird. Mallory was listening to Radiohead on her little boombox. She tried to concentrate on the words but she couldn't. All she could think about was the now empty alleyway. She didn't know what to make of the incident there. But something deep inside of her kept saying that it wanted more...

 

                Mallory stepped out under the awning. A blast of cool air met her face, colder than that in the rink. She sat down outside the doors at the entrance to the Pond, and looked across the street to the mall. A battered old blue car pulled up on the sidewalk. She saw someone get out. A person emerged from nowhere it seemed. They had been sitting against the wall of a building for all that time. The two talked for a moment, and then the person got back in his car and drove away quickly, the tires screeching against the pavement, the burnt rubber throwing gray smoke into the night. Mallory watched with a kind of interest. A red car pulled up. Another person got out. Suddenly, a red light pulsed over the street, then a blue one. A siren exploded out of nowhere. The two people suddenly snapped away from each other. The person jumped back in the car and slammed on the gas. The other person made a mad break for it. The police car roared by in the night, chasing, sirens wailing. Mallory looked down at her hands to realize she was shivering. But then she wiped her brow and found out that she was sweating. Mallory stood up, feeling the cold wall supporting her. She had to go inside now. She had to get some sleep tonight.

 

                The puck spun wildly and bounced off of the glass, klunking and rolling down by the red line. Wildwing stood up quickly again. At least he'd cleared that one outta here. The ice was bad tonight in San Jose. They Ducks had scrambled just to keep it under control. But with 3:12 left in the final third period, they had taken a considerable lead over the Sharks, 4-1. The team had no intention of relaxing however. Times like this provided an excellent time to practice new plays in a real game environment, and really surprise the Sharks. But still he felt disappointed in his team. Something just wasn't clicking tonight. It had happened before, and the game was almost over. He'd find out what it was in the locker room.

 

                "Nice win tonight guys!" Zelda said, sitting up on the bench as the Ducks took off their gear and stashed it in their bags.

                "Mal." Wildwing started. "What was wrong with you tonight?"

                "Yeah Mal." agreed Duke. "You weren't playing like yourself." Mallory paused.

                "Ummm.. that hot dog I had earlier didn't sit to well with me." she replied, not looking up.

                "Oh, you okay?" Tanya asked.

                "Yeah I'm fine now." Mallory replied, and was asked no further questions.

 

                The bus ride was too long. Mal wanted out and to get back home. Any moment not filled with some sort of occupation was haunted by that image, that feeling. It was stronger now. Mallory was really getting frustrated with herself. She hadn't eaten any hot dog. She hadn't eaten at all today. She couldn't, not with that thought flooding her mind. It was 11:00 when the Ducks finally got back to the Pond, and they all trudged lazily off to their rooms. Mallory sat up in bed. She couldn't stand it anymore. Ignoring all of her sense of judgment, she told herself she wanted more. She wanted it, that was all. But how would she get it? She could never go out into the street and buy it, never! Everyone would recognize her! She nearly started crying with her disappointment. Suddenly, her com went off.

                "Yes?" she said, trying to sound normal.

                "I can help you, you know." hissed a familiar voice.

                "Dragaunus!" Mallory seethed. "How did you get onto this frequency?!"

                "Easy, McMallard." he chuckled. "I'll be more than glad to delete the connection, but you'd be losing out on a lot, if you know what I mean..." Mallory thought for a moment and frowned.

                "What can you do for me?" she asked.

                "I have my ways and means." Dragaunus answered. Mallory was coming along fine. Everything would fall into place...

                "Like?" Mallory asked suddenly.

                "Meet me in the alley next to the Pond and I'll show you. I'll come unarmed if you will." Dragaunus said. The connection ended. Mallory was left hanging. She shook herself. What a fool she was being. It was all probably part of another one of Draggy's sick plans. But Mallory's thoughts began to turn, slowly. Slowly she wanted it again, the hunger began to grow. It grew and grew and gnawed at her until she couldn't stand it anymore! She stood up and walked out of her bunk.

 

                Dragaunus was leaning against the wall. Mallory turned immediately to face Seige, holding a laser.

                "Ahhh, it's good to see you for once, Duck." Dragaunus grinned.

                "You said you'd come unarmed!" she snapped.

                "Just in case." Dragaunus explained. He motioned for Siege to put the laser down. Siege did so, very hesitantly. "You can never trust a Duck these days."

                "Look who's talking." Mallory snorted. "Now cut the conversation. You said you could help." Dragaunus reached into a pouch he had on his belt and revealed a metal canister. It the middle was a window so she could see the contents: a clear liquid. "So?" the Duck asked.

                "I know what you want Duck, but you're asking for a lot of trouble. You couldn't keep the real and true stuff with you, the others would find out sooner or later. And that stupid dragon of yours would sniff it out. But I have a better way. This liquid is some of the purest stuff you can find, dissolved into a clear fluid. Just put it in your water bottle and nobody will suspect a thing. Completely scentless too."

                "And how do I know that this is the real thing?" she asked. She couldn't believe what she was doing, but something deep inside drew her on further.

                "Take a swig and see for yourself." Dragaunus offered, tossing her the canister. She uncapped it and sniffed it. No smell. She licked the top. And suddenly that pure sensation of filling came over her again. That gnawing, the near pain stopped, then slowly started up again. This worked for her. She didn't care anymore, she wanted this stuff.

                "And what do you get out of it?" she asked, reluctantly capping the bottle again.

                "My asking price is $50 a canister. Very reasonable." Mallory found herself reaching into her pocket and laying the money down on the ground. "Just remember Duck, I'll be here when you need more." Mallory took the canister and ran back inside.

 

                Mallory looked in the mirror. Totally composed. That what she was. She grinned and slicked back her hair. A movie would really help her unwind. She reached down and opened up her drawer slowly. She removed a water bottle and took a long swig. That felt so good. Now she could go.

 

                And so it went on for weeks. Her teammates noticed only a little change in her behavior, Mallory was careful to disguise herself and drink only very late at night. In turn, Dragaunus assured her he wouldn't make trouble at that hour as long as she bought from him. Mallory didn't question him anymore. There was a time when the Migrator had an overheated engine and they were stuck in the middle of the desert. Nosedive had wanted a sip of her 'water'. Nobody would understand why she refused him so rudely. She didn't care anymore. She had her stuff and she could function normally if she checked herself. She found herself drinking more and more, going through a canister in a week. She had to cut down on her mall shopping to compensate for all the money she was using. And yet she felt weird. Again there was a feeling growing in her, only it was different. As the weeks went on, she grew moody, cranky, even violent. Once in a game, it took Zelda's yelling to snap Mallory out of getting in a fight! Mal seemed unsatisfied with everything, although she tried as hard as possible not to take it out on her teammates. Of course she told nobody about this. To her, nothing at all was wrong. She had stopped thinking altogether about the subject, and drank as if it were a normal part of her life. Her hair got a little scraggly, her eyes formed bags under them after a late night and not much sleep. Mal's mood swings continued, but everyone thought of it as just a fad. She was safe, she kept thinking. She was safe.

 

                Dragaunus filled the last of the canister and tapped it so that it would seal properly.

                "Chameleon!" he yelled out into the room. The small green lizard emerged with another smaller canister in his hands.

                "Jeez boss, ya don't haveta yell, I got the stuff." he muttered.

                "And you're sure these are the right ones?" Dragaunus asked.

                "Sure. We took the ones you told us to boss. Those stupid humans at the Med. lab didn't know what hit 'em. And we got away scot free. No Ducks." Dragaunus grinned.

                "Excellent work." he said. He opened the canister and tipped some of the liquid into the large canister. "Mallory's next 'shipment' is going to come with a free bonus." he grinned.

 

                Mallory took the container and chugged a fourth of it down. She wiped her beak and paused. This stuff was seriously costing her, maybe she should try to ration herself. But after an hour, she needed more.

                "No." she told herself out loud. "I'm not going to..." she said. But just five minutes later that hunger came back again... it was almost painful. Mallory drank and it all went away. She sighed. Only a fourth left. Well, it had lasted for a few days. She felt annoyed that she had to get more. She was getting increasingly moody lately. She noticed that a few of the team were avoiding her. Well she didn't care! Mallory sniffed. Of course she cared! Why were they ignoring her? She hadn't been mean... she tried her hardest and things just came out.... Mallory found herself crying. She wiped her eyes with her sheet. Maybe they were all just sick of her. She sniffed, trying to quiet down. Her eyes would be all puffy and red if she didn't cut it out. She clicked on her little boombox and started to listen to her Eels CD. She loved those words.....

 

                Wildwing called Zelda over as he and the team headed for the Ready Room door.

                "So we'll be back before twelve." he told her.

                "Good. Where's Mal?" she asked.

                "Ahh, she said she didn't wanna come." Tanya shrugged. "Said she needed some sleep."

                "I suppose I'd agree with her." Zelda nodded.

                "You sure you don't mind staying behind?" Duke asked.

                "Positive. I'll let you know if anything turns up." she said. The team headed out. Zelda went back to the little moss blanket she was sewing. She hoped the guys wouldn't get cold tonight, it was a little chilly by Anaheim standards. But coming from a place like Puckworld, she reassured herself that they would be fine.

 

                Mallory stopped in the alleyway. There was nobody.

                "Where are they?" she yelled inside her head. The wind blew sharply though the alley. Suddenly, a green shadow appeared. "It's about time..." Mallory started, desperate. "I haven't had any for hours!" Dragaunus sighed.

                "I'm sorry duck, I don't have anything else for you."

                "WHAT?" Mal gasped. She couldn't believe what she was hearing! She needed more and she needed it now! Dark circles had grown under her eyes. Her hair was ragged in the wind.

                "I'm sorry. The cops came too close to the building we were cloaking as because someone had tipped them off that there was crack in the place. We had to burn it all." he said with a faint sneer.

                "No no, you're lying to me!" Mallory sobbed. She was really in tears now. That hunger was really killing her. She ran forward and grabbed the base of Dragaunus's robes, tugging desperately. "Please tell me you're lying!" she cried. Dragaunus stared down, amused.

                "Sorry." he smiled. "There's nothing I can do." He teleported away, leaving Mallory alone. No more. She kept repeating that there was no more.... And now what? She couldn't go on without more! She needed it! She'd explode! And the team would find out... she'd be tortured by them... Oh what would she do? She needed someone to talk to. Yes, yes that would make it all better. Maybe Tanya... or Duke or Zelda or somebody... they might understand, get some more for her... somehow. She was going mad. She ran back into the Pond. Nobody. Where was everybody? Had they deserted her? Did they know? She ran into the Ready Room.

                "Guys? GUYS?" she sobbed aloud. She stopped, gasping in short sobs. Nothing but soft music coming from a small radio in the corner. It was Madonna. She knew that song...

               

                "If I ran away

                 I'd never have the strength to go very far.

                How would they hear

                The beating of my heart?"

 

She breathed hard as she listened. They had deserted her... they had left her here alone with nothing and she would just shrivel up.... She couldn't stand it anymore and that hunger was throbbing deep inside her. She screamed and tore out of the room, running madly towards the vehicle bay. Zelda yawned and blinked hard. She thought she had heard something. She peeked out from underneath her blanket behind a Drake One chair. She heard footsteps going down the hall.

                "Mal?" she called. No response, just footsteps. Zelda decided to follow. Something may have come up. But before she went, she left a voice message on Drake One.

"Guys, Mal just ran outta here. Something's up but I didn't hear the alarm. I'll check back if I can." She turned away and ran.

 

                Zelda darted into the vehicle bay and jerked to a halt. The garage door was open, the night gaping and black beyond it. One of the Duckcycles was gone! Zelda darted off to follow Mal, thinking that it was a little strange she hadn't called on her to follow. She flew up and skimmed over the city. There was Mal. She ripped along at a speed that was rather unsafe. She jerked through the streets. Thank goodness it was late and only a few people were out, she might hit someone otherwise! She ripped up onto the pretty empty freeway, and sped away. Zelda dove down and began to follow her.

 

To be continued....