The Tale of The Dragon and The Tiger

Chapter Twenty Eight: Quinn

   Sunlight streamed in Jason's window as a warm breeze blew apart the curtains. The sudden gust sent a shiver down my spine, making my bare skin crawl.
  Jason chuckled, and pulled me closer to his chest. The whole of last night was still surreal to me.
  Jason ran his hand through my hair gently, bringing me back from my fantasy, and into reality. "How long have you been awake?"
  "Long enough to figure out you say my name in your sleep." He smiled.
  I blushed and rolled away from him. "That's embarrassing."
  He scooted across the bed and wrapped his arms around my waist, mindful of the scar on my abdomen. "I think its cute."
   We stayed that way for a minute or two, before- "Jason! Honey. Are you upstairs?"
  Jason grew rigid, his breath caught in his throat. I could feel his skin against my back grow cold. "Jaso-"
  Out of nowhere, Jason shoved me out of his bed. My chest hit the floor hard with a resounding crack.
  "Jason?" His mom called. I could hear her footsteps from the stair case. "Are you alright?"
   "Fine mom. Quinn came over and, hit his head on the bed post when he woke up!"  He called back. He looked at me pleadingly.
   I rolled my eyes.
  "Oh. Quinn, honey, are you alright? That thud sounded loud."
  "I'm fine Mrs. Scott." I locked eyes with Jason and spat, "I have a thick skull."
   "Well, you have to when dealing with Jason." She laughed.
   He rolled his eyes and I smiled. "That much is true."
   Jason smiled playfully and tossed a pillow at me. "Well when you two are ready, breakfast is downstairs. Jason, your father and I have to go into town. It seems one of the students from your school went missing last night."
   Jason and I were suddenly awake. "Hey mom, do you remember who went missing?"
   "Yeah, some young girl. Trini I think. Is she one of your friends?"
   In a split second, both Jason and I were on or feet and getting dressed. Not even the image of Jason struggling into a pair of boxers could shake my determination. Trini was in trouble, I knew damn well who the culprit was.
  
   Jason and I picked up the rest of the team on our way out to the gold mine. We all remained silent up until we burst into the control room.
  "Alpha, we need you to locate Trini. We think she's in danger." I said as the others ran up to the morphing grid.
   "Oh. Alright." He ran over to a control board and started punching in numbers. "She's... well this cant be right." We all looked at him in confusion. "This says she's... right outside."
   We all bolted for the exit.

  Water rushed past us as we landed on the edge of the precipice. Three people stood in front of us. Rita stood next to Tommy and Trini next to him. Tommy's visor was folded back across his face, revealing a cold grin. Trini' face lacked all emotion, like a zombie or a puppet. Her eyes were tinted green.
   "Tommy. What have you done?" I asked balling my fists. The rangers around me morphed in a blast of kaleidoscopic light.
   Rita laughed. It was a cruel and cold thing that chilled my bones and froze my blood. "He's shown her the light." She twisted her claws in her pitch black hair. Her eyes cast a glance between Jason and I. "Oh, a partnership?" She flicked her claws out in surprise. "No, a Power Ranger relationship. How fun."
   Tommy looked at Rita and then to me. His eyes finally fixed on Jason.
   "Oh, another reason to destroy these little pests, Thomas." She said, sliding her fingers across Tommy's face. "That one," she pointed a finger at Jason, "is having a very intimate relationship with your brother. Its quite adorable."
   Tommy's grin turned into a scowl.
   "Rangers get ready." I said, pulling out my power coin. "Its time to put your training to the test."