Alone again
Alone again, there's no one left,
Just silence and my fears.
Without you here, there is no light,
I can't see through the tears.
Kai strode away from the small wooden cabin into the ensuing darkness. He had pulled on his top as he was walking out but he realised now that he had forgotten his cloak. He let out a short curse, disgusted at himself. He couldn't go back and get it either, not now. He slowed down trying to work out what he could do, without the cloak he would be easier to spot and he would also be more vulnerable to the cold Russian nights. He paused where he was and thought about it, wondering if he could get the cloak without the girl knowing. Without his footsteps, the only sound should have been his breathing and the singing of the last evening birds yet a growing noise caught Kai's ears.
A car. It was coming closer, driving towards him. He turned around and ducked behind a bush just as it rounded the corner. He was in the middle of no where so it was only common sense to assume it was Voltaire's cronies, tracking him down. The car was black with dark tinted windows. At first Kai thought they had seen him but the car slowed and stopped outside the small wooden cottage that Kai had just come out of. Kai's heart skipped a beat. What would they do to Zephyr if they found her? He was about to stand up in an attempt to get to her before they could but the car doors opened and four men stepped out. As the doors slammed closed, the sunlight glinted sharply off cold metal in one man's hand. It was a gun.
'Zephyr!' gasped Kai. Events were moving to fast for him to do anything. Within seconds they were making their way towards the door. Kai hesitated only a second before realising what he had to do.
'HEY!' He yelled, standing up in full view. The four men turned in surprise before they started grinning, realising that Kai had hardly any chance of escaping. Shocked at his own stupidity, Kai turned tail and ran. The only thing that could save him now was luck. With his heart pounding, Kai fled across the bare Russian landscape, jumping and dodging past bushes and ditches.
There was a loud bang behind him and Kai winced at the sudden searing pain in his shoulder. He stumbled but kept on running. He had to get them away from Zephyr.
Kai was gasping desperately for air now, stumbling more often. All he could hear was his heavy breathing and the blood pounding in his ears. That and the sound of his feet thumping across the light layer of snow on the ground. His thoughts were whirling in his head and his vision was starting to blur from loss of blood. If she got caught up in his fight…No! He wouldn't let that happen.
All of a sudden, Kai's foot caught in a root and he went sprawling across the ground. He winced, waiting for his inevitable capture, for the heavy blows to come raining down.
But there was nothing. Kai opened his eyes fearfully. The landscape was hidden in darkness and everywhere was still. There were no pursuers, no approaching footsteps. Just silence. He was alone.
He sat up, clutching his shoulder where the bullet had penetrated his flesh and the blood dripped silently through his fingers. Ripping a piece of cloth from his already torn top, Kai pressed it against the wound, gasping at the pain as he tried to stem the bleeding. Why had he done that? Why had he put himself in such danger? And for a complete stranger, no less? Kai shook his head wonderingly, the old him would never have done it. He thought about the girl, Zephyr, the memory of her pained face as she found out his full name, flashing through his mind. He winced slightly, partly from pain but partly also from remembering how much hate had filled her dark, stormy eyes.
'Damn it!' he cursed in frustration. He didn't know what he was doing anymore. He wasn't even sure where he had been headed before and now that this girl, Zephyr, had shown up, he was even more confused.
Kai stood up carefully on trembling legs, still clutching his shoulder. He turned to gaze back the way he had come. With the moon still low in the sky it was hard to make out anything in the dark but one thing was certain. There was no one else but him. What had happened to the four men chasing him then? They had definitely been after him. They had started running after him and then they'd shot him and then… Maybe they thought they could catch up with him if he was injured, maybe that's why they had stopped chasing him? Or maybe…Zephyr?
Kai's eyes widened as the thought hit him.
Could they have realised he was trying to draw the danger away from her? If that was the case…Kai cursed again and started off at a run, back the way he had come. If those …idiots, thought she was in any way important then they would use it to their advantage. That was just the way they had been told to work. Running at full sprint in the dark, Kai couldn't help tripping over countless roots and bushes that got in his way. Finally, when the moon had risen slightly and there was more light to see by, a large black shape loomed out of the darkness. Kai slowed to a halt, panting slightly. He was bruised and grazed all over from falling and his shoulder was still bleeding but he was there. Now if only…Kai shook his head, creeping forward, closer to the house. Why was he worried, it wasn't as if she was important. Even if she was still there as he hoped she was, his concern wouldn't stop her from hating him.
Moving as silently as possible, Kai crept to the corner of the house and peered around, searching for any sign of the enemy. The car was gone. Kai was starting to feel sick in his stomach but he couldn't work out if it was from his wounds or from worry. She would be fine, they probably hadn't even…
The door of the house came into view and Kai's face fell. It was open, and no light came from inside. Glancing around, Kai searched for some sign of a trap.
There was no sign of life anywhere. Slowly, carefully, he crept closer to the empty open door, a hollow feeling in his stomach. He jumped back at a sudden movement in the doorway before frowning at his mistake. It was just a stray cat. It stalked over to him and began winding it's way around his feet. He sank down, leaning against the wall and began stroking it, pulling at the kinks in its hair with shaking fingers.
With a sigh, Kai rested his head against the wall and closed his suddenly heavy eyes. All that running had worn him out again. The cat jumped up onto his lap and curled up, purring softly. Then, before he even realised what was happening, he was asleep.
Dream Kai ran, twisting and turning through endless, sterile, grey corridors. Up stairs and down, his breath echoed harshly and her screams rang in his ears. Finally, after what seemed like forever searching, he came upon a large metallic door, completely black; it seemed to suck away any light that could be found in this dreary place. The heart-wrenching screams seemed to come from behind it. Fearfully, Kai reached out his hand and pushed at the door. It made no sound as it swung open but the screams suddenly stopped, leaving only a deathly silence. Stepping through, Kai found himself in a huge, empty, grey room, the far wall too distant to be visible. At first he thought there was nothing there but as he looked around his eye caught on a single spot of colour. Right in the centre of the room, her small body was stretched face-down on the floor. The dress she wore was such a brilliant red that Kai wondered how he hadn't seen it at first. He started towards her but stopped again almost immediately, his heart skipping a beat as his father loomed out of the shadows behind her. Kai felt a sudden anger flooding through his veins and with a loud roar he started sprinting towards the evil man. As Kai ran, his father seemed to grow larger and larger, soon towering over her limp body. At the same time as he was growing bigger, her dress seemed to get paler and paler as if he was draining away her life force. Still Kai was no where nearer to either of them. Suddenly the face of Kai's father changed and in his place was the laughing face of Voltaire Hiwatari. 'You can't help her now!' he grinned wickedly, 'You've killed her, it's your fault. She's dead and it's all your fault.' Kai gasped as he found himself suddenly standing over her still body. Voltaire Hiwatari was gone, his laughter fading away, but as Kai watched, she slowly rolled over until her lifeless eyes were staring up at him. Kai shook as he stared into his sister's accusing eyes before it became to much and he let out a short despairing scream, covering up his tear filled eyes as he backed away. When he opened them again she was standing in front of him, only it wasn't his sister any more, it was Zephyr. She took a step towards him, smiling softly. His eyes fell suddenly upon the blood soaked knife gripped in her hand and he took another step back. 'Come on Kai, it doesn't hurt.' She stepped suddenly closer so that their faces were only a breath apart and she hooked her arm around his shoulders. 'Don't you want to play?' she asked, questioningly as she trailed the knife across his chest, leaving smears of blood on his clothes. Slowly she moved the knife down, towards his belly until she had the point pricking gently against his pale skin. 'It doesn't hurt' she repeated. Kai's eyes widened and he shook his head trying to push her away. It was a mistake. Her eyes changed instantly from playful to angry and the knife stabbed violently into his chest. End Dream
Kai woke with a yelp of pain, his hand moving automatically to the painful pricking on his stomach. Instead of the blood he expected, his hand fell upon the soft fur of the stray cat still sleeping on his lap. He sighed with a slightly embarrassed relief, what he had dreamt of as a knife was actually sharp claws kneading in and out in time to the cat's purrs. Woken by his hand stroking it's soft fur, the cat yawned and stretched before jumping down and disappearing into the cold night. Kai stood up, brushing himself off before suddenly remembering where he was.
'Zephyr!' He turned quickly to the empty doorway and peered in. he knew by now that there was no one there. There was a distinct feeling of emptiness. Still he tiptoed carefully inside. No one. After searching through the all the rooms in the small cottage, Kai returned to the bedroom where he had first awoken only a few hours ago. He lowered himself shakily onto the worn down armchair, despite his rest outside he still felt sick. His shoulder burned with pain and he could tell he was getting a fever. Every now and then his eyes would blur and it was hard to concentrate on the task at hand. With dazed eyes, Kai stared blankly at the far wall, wondering vaguely how he was gonna get out of this mess, he was still thinking about Zephyr when he finally fell unconscious and reality blurred into lonely nightmares.
