Lost and Found
I see you now, your weeping face,
Your tears crash to the ground
Do you see I'm here? I'm born again,
And when you're lost, I'm found.
A continuous rumbling groan on the edge of hearing, rough voices, the heavy feeling of being carried, then pain at being dropped unceremoniously to the ground. A lingering sweetness of scent, a soft touch, cooling the desperate thoughts rushing through his mind. In his fevered state, these were the only things that Kai could tell of his surroundings before giving in entirely once more to the empty depths of unconsciousness.
Later on, after many fearful dreams and fevered nightmares, Kai became aware of a presence other than himself. A hushed voice whispered his name and he thought he could hear tears in that quiet sound. Breaking free from the daze that had a hold on his mind, Kai weakly opened his eyes and watched as a silhouetted shape swam into view.
'Kai?', that soft voice again. Who was it? Who knew his name? 'Can you hear me Kai?' Kai squeezed his eyes shut in frustration before opening them again, trying to clear his vision.
'Who…?' he groaned weakly, his mouth dry. He felt another hand squeeze his own… in relief? The shadow leaning over him disappeared for a second before his head was gently lifted and the girl, it must be a girl, trickled some brackish water into his parched mouth. He coughed slightly at the earthy taste but swallowed despite it. As she lay his head down again he closed his eyes and sank back into a dreamless sleep.
'…the hell is taking so long, bitch?' An angry snarl penetrating the empty sleep. Kai lay still.
A hand tightened around his own and he could feel the fear shaking through it.
'He's still sick, please, just give me one more day and he'll wake up, please!' She was pleading for him. for his life.
Zephyr.
Gently, without opening his eyes, Kai squeezed back. The grip on his hand steadied and he felt a hand on his arm, warning him to stay quiet. He didn't need the warning. He knew they were in trouble. There was an angry growl and an irritated curse.
'F%*k this. If he's not awake by tomorrow morning I don't give a s*%t anymore, I'll just kill you both get it?' Zephyr's fearful voice replied.
'I...I get it.'
'Good!' There was a sound of footsteps fading away, a door slamming, and then nothing.
'Kai?' Kai opened his eyes to find Zephyr staring at him worriedly. He stared back at her, wondering. Memories of before flashing to the front of his mind, memories of her accusing eyes.
'Zephyr…' he started. He blinked in confusion and, breaking the gaze between them, began taking in his surroundings. 'Where…?' He closed his eyes and growled in frustration, he was so weak he couldn't even string a couple of words together.
'Here, you need to eat something.' She said quietly. 'You've been…asleep for two days now.' Kai opened his eyes again and tried to sit up. Zephyr's face creased in worry as she helped him, leaning him gently against the wall as he gasped for pain filled breath's. Finally he steadied himself, settling into a calmer breathing pace he put all his concentration into staying upright, it felt almost like he was paralysed he was so weary. He tried lifting his arm but it shook so much he let it fall back again and instead, looked around at his surroundings with half-lidded eyes.
From what he could make out in the dark light, they were in a small, empty room. There was dust everywhere and the single window was so grimy that no light could get through. As Zephyr turned away to retrieve some form of food, Kai noticed grimly that her left eye was bruised and she had a small cut across her cheek. He sighed and glared angrily down at the thin blanket covering him, for want of an object more worthy of blame.
When Zephyr turned back and knelt down beside him, she was holding a chipped bowl containing steaming liquid.
She lifted the bowl to his lips, allowing him to drink some of the thin soup.
'Sorry,' she whispered miserably. 'this is all the food there is…' Kai didn't say anything. He was finding it hard to even swallow and he only managed to eat half the soup anyway. As Zephyr placed the half eaten soup on the floor, Kai looked away, ashamed of his weakened state. There was an uncomfortable silence.
'I…' Kai stopped, still staring at the dirty floor. Zephyr watched him, waiting. 'I'm the one who should be sorry…' He coughed suddenly, interrupting himself and setting off a painful few minutes where he could barely breathe for coughing and choking with Zephyr holding him steady, keeping him from falling, offering soothing words even while her eyes were widened with fear. As the racking coughs gradually subsided Kai found himself leaning heavily against the dark-haired girl and although he tried, he found he had no more energy left to move and so he simply lay there as she held him in her arms, each suddenly comforted by the fact that they were no longer so alone.
When he awoke later it was dark and Zephyr was gone. From outside he could hear angry shouting again. Kai pushed himself up into a sitting position, leaning against the wall. He was pleased to find himself lot stronger than he had been earlier. He could actually move about and support his own weight again. Outside the shouts were getting louder, getting closer to wherever he was. It was a mixture of a man's deep voice and Zephyr's half angry half pleading shouts and every now and then her screams. Kai's eyes widened as he realised she must be in danger.
With shaking limbs, Kai pushed himself up against the wall, panting heavily with the effort it took as the room swam about him. Pushing away from the wall, Kai squeezed his eyes shut against a sudden surge of nausea. Staggering towards the door on trembling legs, Kai threw himself across the last distance and grabbed hold of the door handle, leaning heavily against it for support.
From outside he could hear angry shouts and cries and all of a sudden came a thump that he could feel through the door. Something or someone had been thrown against the wall on the other side of the door. Kai hoped against hope that it hadn't been Zephyr even as he knew it must be.
Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Kai pushed forcibly down on the door handle and crashed the door open. A rush of frozen air swooped into the already cool room. It wrapped Kai's body in goose-bumps and made every breath ache. In front of him stood a menacing looking man, his fists were clenched and his eyes were full of hate. His eyes widened slightly at seeing Kai in the doorway.
'Well…look who it is…' The man growled. Kai's eyes flickered to each side, trying to find Zephyr. He had to stifle a sudden gasp of shock when he glimpsed her fall of long, dark blue tresses spread across the snow covered ground, covering her still face and arms. Spattered across the pure, white snow was a spray of blood.
