Walking inside of Shadow's place hand in hand, KL and I were abruptly met by a teary eyed Raine, Airilice, and an utterly nervous Jagger.
KL and I both shot them a glance, wondering why such morbid expressions were written on their faces. As Raine's eye followed the trail to our interlocked hands, her crying face twisted into an expression of pain. A pang of guilt arose within me, knowing now why she was so cruel to KL. She had known all along that I had feelings for her, and now I realized that I was chipping pieces of Raine's heart off piece by piece.
" Raine what's wrong?" I asked, concerned.
" He's leaving us Kratos," she said, breaking down in tears. Never have I ever seen her in such a vulnerable state. I was used to seeing the sarcastic, snarky Raine. She's always had this strong personality to her, so to see her in such a state really made my stomach twist into a nervous knot.
" What are you talking about?" I asked, her words not processing through this cranium of mine. Taken aback by the abrupt change in scenery, I couldn't do anything but stare at Raine and blink. KL released grip on my hand, her expression contorting to one of worry. Sobs began to shake Raine's frame, and Airilice cleared her throat and stared at Jagger. Letting out a sigh, Jagger stared directly at me, pain lacing his emerald eyes.
" Kratos, I don't know how to tell you this-"
" Well can someone please tell me what's going on?" I demanded, screaming in frustration. How much longer would it take for them to spill the beans?
Jagger's expression turned to one filled with sorrow. " Kratos, Shadow is dying."
On an impulse, I pushed my way through everything blocking my way and paced to the lab. Every sound in the atmosphere blurred into the background until it drowned into pure silence. Time itself slowed down, the scenery turning into a mix of blurred colors. I didn't believe them, I didn't. They were lying straight to my face. There was no way that we were losing Shadow after all of this.
I panted as I ran inside the lab room, where the scene before me made me stop in my tracks.
" Now Taj, NOW!" Lily screamed.
Taj's hands glowed which made Shadow's wound reflect the bright light. Lily then joined in with Taj, using her cura powers to try to heal the wound.
" It's not working!" She screamed, as a tear rolled off of her cheek. She let out a frustrated sigh as her and Taj stopped using their powers. Lily made eye contact with me. "Kratos, it's no use. We've tried at least ten times already! His wound is just not healing for some reason," she said as a lump grew in her throat.
"I'm sorry Master," she whispered as she sweetly brushed some of his hair out of his face.
Nox came out from the back room, his eyes bloodshot from crying I would assume.
The heart monitor was making very slow, steady beats. "He still has life in him! He's still alive! We can't just give up on him!"
" Kratos, we're doing all that we can to help him!" Lily screamed.
" Lily flower, chill," Taj said. He then looked over at me. " Kratos, look. We're doing all that we can. Lily's just under some pressure right now. Just give us a minute to compose ourselves and figure out what's going on. We have no clue why his body is reacting like this."
" No one knows why this is happening," Lily added in.
I sighed, leaving the room. KL walked over to me. "Kratos," she said while putting her hand on my shoulder. Shrugging it off, I walked past her.
" Just let me be!" She stepped back, and I could feel her eyes just watching me in shock. As I turned to glance at her, her eyes became filled with tears, hurt written all over her face. Jagger, who was beside her couldn't help but shoot me a cold glare. " Look, I know a lot is going on right now, but don't take it out on her. All she was trying to do was comfort you, so stop acting like that with her."
" Jagger, he's just under a lot of pressure," KL added.
" No, KL. Don't go defending his behavior. He's not the only one under pressure here. We all are. But as the designated leader of this group, I would hope he would try to get things more together and start acting like one," With that, he turned around and my anger shot up through the roof. Taking in deep breaths to control myself, I tried to avert my attention from the scene that had just happened.
Charlotte walked like a zombie down the hallway, a glum expression on her face. KL ran away toward the lab and I couldn't help but regret how I had treated her just a second ago. Jagger ran to catch up to her, and Charlotte followed their lead. Not wanting to go back into that dreaded lab, a wail escaped my lips and echoed through the hallway. Punching the wall in pure anger, I stared plainly into space as a tear streamed down my face. Feeling crushed, defeated, I crumbled onto the floor and covered my face as the tears poured outward.
As much as I disliked Jagger, he was right. How was I to lead the whole organization if I couldn't even keep my emotions under control? I was a pathetic excuse for a leader, I was nothing better than the monster that my parents claimed me to be. All I was capable of was destroying relationships and pushing good people away. Wanting nothing more than to keep myself planted here, I somehow managed to stand back on my feet.
The short walk to the lab felt like a millennium, as I ever so dreaded to go back and see my lifeless Master sprawled out amongst the cold lab table. As the door approached, the heaviness of the situation rested upon me. Bracing myself, my hand twisted the doorknob and I re-entered the lab.
Everyone watched as I approached Shadow's limp body. Taking in the reality of the situation, I searched for the signs that said he wasn't really going to come back. His blue veins were visible through his transparent-like skin and the heart monitor only made slow progressive beats. His face looked clammy and sickly, and he just didn't look like the lively Shadow that I had grown to know.
It was inevitable to deny, Shadow was dying. The man who had raised me as a son and taught me all of the ways of life is now laying on his deathbed, all because I was too stupid to listen to the warning signs. I felt a deep knot of sadness form in my stomach, and the more that I saw his body lay there lifeless, the bigger the knot grew. KL walked up to the lab table and stared downward at him, all of the cheerful light being sucked out of her. I saw her hand go up to her face, a sign that she was wiping her tears away. Slowly, I reached my hand towards her free hand, and wrapped it in mine.
We'll be okay KL. I promise.
Peering up at me, her amber eyes held a deep sadness that was impossible to ignore. Shadow was not only well respected by us, but he was loved by all of us. He was the glue that kept our little family together.
Wiggling her way out of my hand, KL took her hands and placed them on Shadow's wound, and in curiosity, Jagger took a step closer.
" How are you doing that? It's healing!" Jagger excitedly exclaimed.
Her eyes closed as she weakly spoke, "Yeah."
My ears perked up at Jagger's words.
" Ohmygosh, it is!" Charlotte screamed. Airilice and Raine then ran forward to see what KL was doing.
Lily on the other hand was concerned. " KL no! KL, stop it! KL! You'll-"
Suddenly, KL's body began to sway and her body dropped against her will. Jagger reacted quickly and took her in his arms before she could make impact with the floor. Running up to them, I tenderly brushed strands of hair out of KL's face while trying to keep my composure.
" What happened?" I directed toward Lily.
She frowned as she examined Shadow's body. " She managed to somehow close Shadow's wound, but in return she drained her own energy."
" Will she wake up?" I asked.
" I sure hope so," Lily said, biting the inside of her cheek. She then looked over at Taj. " Taj. Raine. We're gonna need another lab table."
©Lightning_Stryker 2016
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Broken
Science Fiction[COMPLETED] An average girl in an average world, KL Kiyano had no idea of the amount of power that she possessed. After all, she was just a normal teenager that was trying to find her place in this world. At least that's what she told herself up u...
