Learning to Communicate

"Mikey!"

"Gerard? I didn't think you saw the light of day at this hour...."

"Can it! Frank's gone!"

"Huh?"

"Frankie's gone! He left. The door is standing wide open and he's not in my apartment or outside 'cause I looked. He's gone, Mike, he's gone!" I felt sick. I had actually dashed around outside, still wearing my sheet, calling Frank's name over and over. There was no sign of him anywhere. This was my fault. I yelled at him and he ran off. I hadn't known what to do, so I grabbed the phone and hit Speed 1 for Mikey. I didn't really know how he was supposed to help, but I needed to talk to someone.

There was silence on the other end of the phone. I could hear the television going in the background, and the soft murmur that probably meant Anna was talking. Finally, Mikey spoke again. "Gerard, I think you should turn on the news," he said. News? What the fuck? I didn't have time for this shit. I was about to say so when he spoke. "I know, I know, just sit down and go to Channel 6."

I hit the power on my remote. Channel 6. Some greaseball anchorman was talking. I hated news in general, and tried to avoid it for the most part. I would watch it in the evening to know what was going on, and then turn the station. Lately though, neither Frank or I had watched any thing news related. Just a lot of cartoons and sit-coms. My attention focused though once a picture of a Sub-Human popped up on the screen. I turned up the volume.

"....bill could pass quite easily then?"

"Yes Ted," said another man appearing on screen. "This whole controversy is just getting ugly. I know what some activist groups are saying, that these....uh, creatures, have thoughts and feelings, but there's just no proof of that. I would say they're no more intelligent than a more traditional house pet."

"But calling for a termination of the species?" asked the anchorman, lifting an eyebrow. "Is that really any better? Some are saying this could qualify as genocide."

The second man was shaking his head. "Is it any fairer to let them be subjected to the kind of horrors they see in private homes?"

I had almost forgot Mikey was still on the phone until his voice came back into my ear. "Two days ago they found a basement containing two Sub-Human girls that were being sold to the local men for sex," he said. I made a face. "That's gross." A moment's pause. "What're they doin'?" I asked.

"Trying to pass a bill through Congress to terminate Sub-Humans."

"Like..."

"Yeah."

Terminate. That meant kill. Destroy. Get rid of. My head was starting to hurt. "Mikey, I gotta find Frank. This is making me really edgy and I don't like this." As I said it, I turned off the two men on TV. Mikey's voice came back. "Yeah, okay, you're right. Do you want me to come over and help?" he asked.

"If you can," I said.

..::||~*~||::..

I opened the door afterwhile. Anna and Mikey filed in, looking around as though something would have been different. I suddenly felt bad Anna had come. She didn't need to be running around after a lost....fox-boy. I didn't say anything though, knowing she was shush me and say she was perfectly capable of doing as she pleased, thank me very much.

"So, you have no idea what time he left?" she asked, sitting in a chair. I shook my head. "No clue."

"I'm sure he's not far," said Mikey, adjusting his glasses.

"Oh yeah, I mean, how far could Frank go anyway?" Anna interjected. "He's not that big, and we're not sure how smart he is, he's not mean. Oh lord, what if someone took him in by now? He's so cute, and trusting...."

I cut her off. "I'm sure he's fine." Man, she sounded like she was about to start crying. Which she did, running her arms around herself. I looked at Mikey. He looked at me. "Yeah, Gerard's right. He's fine, baby," he said, completely unsure of himself. She sniffed for a moment and wiped her face like everything was perfectly normal. She stood.

"Alright let's go."

Women.

..::||~*~||::..

"Well, if we go around that way, we can check around the stores and the gas station," Mikey said, pointing off towards the grocery parking lot. I nodded, my keys jingling in my fingers. Anna was sitting in their car, listening. We decided to split up and talk on the cell phones if we saw him. I had taken a minute or two to think of all the places Frank might go. We had already combed the entire apartment complex, even searching the trees incase he found his way up one. I found myself thinking things like if I ever found him again, I'd let him chase as many squirrells as he wanted to. I shook it out of my head though. Such morbid thoughts. I didn't really think he was gone for good. I was hoping not, anyway.

"If I go that way then," I said, indicating. "I guess I'll look around behind some of the resturants and stuff. Frankly, I wouldn't put eating out of garbage bins past him."

I pulled out first, Mikey following behind, and both cars went in separate directions. I rolled my window down, searching the empty field across the street with my eyes. Nothing. How was I supposed to spot Frank anyway? The ears? Maybe if I went looking through a crowd of people, I'd just see them hopping around. I frowned. Frank was so short, not even his ears would be visible.
I took a slow turn into the back lot of a McDonalds. No signs of life here, or right next door at a another fast food place. Would he actually go inside, I wondered. This morning's news reports came tearing back through my head.

"....unsympathetic groups promoting violence...."

"We're not calling for vigilantes...."

"....civil rights for a sub-species?"

Why would anyone care? Did people really hate Sub-humans so much they felt like they had to be killed systematically? That's fucked up. That's Hitler type shit right there. Even worse though, people were abusing them. I could see it now. It would be so easy. And who could they tell? They couldn't even talk. Most. Frank was lucky I guess. He was incredibly smart.

I slammed on my brakes in the middle of an empty street. Dr. Grace would know better where to look for Frank. She was an expert. I slide over to the side of the road and dug in my pocket for my cell phone. I scrolled through the numbers and hit dial.

"Hello, this Dr. Grace Monroe," said a voice through the phone.

"Dr. Grace? It's Gerard Way."

"Oh hi, Gerard. How are you?"

"Um, listen. I'm sorry to be calling this early," I said, taking a glance at the clock on the dashboard. "I got up this morning and Frankie had left my apartment. I have no clue where he is. I just thought-"

"That I could help?"

"Yeah," I said quitely. There was a pause on the end of the line, and a small "Hmm."

"I'm glad you called," she said. "Unfortunately, this is a bad time for Frankie to runaway. I'm sure you're heard all about this Anti-sub group and their..." She seemed to stop herself from saying something off colour. "....their proposed bill."

"Uh, I'm afraid I'm sketchy on the details, but my brother gave me some of the gist of it this morning."

"People right here in New Jersey are surfacing with murder charges against Sub-Humans," she said. I heard her swallow a little. "Someone torched my clinic a week ago when this whole issue started becoming so hot."

"Oh my god. That's awful." I didn't know what to say.

"We should find Francis," she said instead. "I kept all his files here in my house to keep them secret. I know I told you he was special, but I guess I didn't let on how much so. If people knew how smart he was, they'd want to put him into a lab and make him into an experiment." I wondered if I should tell her about him talking. I was about to say something when she continued suddenly. "Where are you?" she asked.

"I'm about ten minutes from my apartment, over near Jones Road and Crossbridge, that neighborhood...."

"Where I live."

"You live in Crossbridge?" I asked, a little incrediously. I didn't know anyone who lived there. Even though my apartment building was nearby, it might as well have been different worlds. If I worked my ass off for a real house, I wouldn't have even been good enough to look there.

"Would you come and get me? I want to help you," she said. I agreed. A very small part of me wanted to see where she lived though. I knew she wasn't married, and I would never have pictured a vet living so well on her own. She wasn't old enough to be retired, and it would have been highly surprising to me if she had any children. I forced my car into a U-turn, blessing how empty this street was. A few turns and one red light later, I found myself browsing the streets in the most affluent neighborhood I knew. These people had four car garages and swimming pools surrounded by tall trees and lush, private lawns. My own sneaking suspicions wondered if they had like, freakin' elevators or butlers that popped out of the pantry. Now why didn't Frankie get himself lost over here huh?

I finally pulled up to Dr. Grace's house. My, it was a shack. The biggest fucking shack on the street. The shouse itself was barely visible from the street due to the numerous palm trees in the front yard. I braked and parked, holding my breath a little as I looked over the house. In a place like this, I wondered if Grace had any trouble finding men to come home with her. Hell, she could probably keep ten boyfriends in ten different rooms without them knowing, and do the pool guy on the side.

Grace was not a vet. She was rich. She had to do something on the side. I squinted. What made that much money? Stripper?

While I was pondering, Dr. Grace appeared out the front door, files in one hand and a bag in the other. She was dressed casually, her hair pulled back from her face. She waved as much as she could and I unlocked the passenger side door. She got in, setting the files back into the bag at her feet. "Hey," she huffed in greeting.

"Hi," I said, casting a glance at the house. She looked over and lifted an eyebrow. She knew what I wanted to ask, but she decided to let me flounder around. "Do you..." I started.

"Is it that important?" she asked in the nicest way, a smile on her face.

"No, you're right," I said. I cast a second glance at her house before backing out of the driveway. You know, if she was lonely, I knew a guy and his pet who'd be happy to rent a room from her....

"Now, I brought Frank's medical history with me. I remembered that he came from a shelter. There are only two places in this city that keep Sub-Humans, so I think it would be in our best interest to go there first and see if maybe he was dropped off at one during the night. He possibly could have taken himself back to the one he came from as well," she said. She seemed to be biting her lower lip, even when she talked. "That is, if he remembers the way. He probably has a vague idea of the direction, which could also mean he's heading that way and we could find him."

I felt so much better having her with me. She was so calm as opposed to the way I felt. I nodded, remembering the way myself. We sat in silence for a moment as I drove out of Crossbridge. I had to tell her about what Frankie said. Well, not about what he said, because I was pretty sure Mike would hate me for it, but that he spoke at all.

"Dr. Grace? I have something that I really need to tell you about Frank."

She looked at me as my cell phone rang. Mikey was calling according to the ringtone. My heart sped up. Oh god, they found Frank. I knew it. Please, please, tell me you found him.

"Hello?"

"Gerard! Oh my god! We have to go to the hospital. Anna's water broke!"