Asylum

Chasing Ghosts

Ren Walker

This damned plane shudders once again, waking me from my slumber. I sit up, blinking until I get my orientation. The plane is dark, except for the few seats using a device of some sort to watch a movie or whatever. To my left, the mystery passenger snores while drool pools out of his mouth. To my right, Kya looks out the window, gray eyes gazing up at the full moon. Her powers should be at their peak, right about now. I also notice a warm blanket has been draped over me in my sleep, which I appreciate. I raise my arms to stretch, which causes Kya to jump, startled. She also raises her arm closest to me.

"How'd you sleep?" she asks.

"Just fine," I yawn. In reality, I slept fine, but my slumber didn't go without haunting of the past. It's like the closer we get to Japan, the more the memories resurface. Even details I thought I had forgotten about my father's murder prove prominent in my nightmares. I arch my back, which cracks in my stretching phenomena. Oddly, Kya's arm is still raised. Furrowing my brows, I look up and notice I've been holding her hand the whole time. "Gah!" I shout, dropping her cold hand and wiping mine off on the blanket. "Why were you holding my hand?"

"You were the one who was holding my hand," she corrects.

"Was not," I deny.

Kya gives me the you-know-what-you-did expression and turns away, gaze focused outside once again. "The sun should be rising soon. We'll be landing in Tokyo in about four hours."

I don't respond. Every fiber in my being chastises me for being a wimp – for not being man enough to escape this ragtag group of freaks right off the bat. Because now, look where it's getting me: I'll have to go back to Japan. AKA the place I murdered my father, threw my older brother off a cliff, and drove away my younger half-brother. Why did I ever think I could face my old home again? What force was driving me here?

"Are you okay?" Kya softly inquires, respecting the people around us sleeping.

I open my mouth to tell her I'm fine, and that she should mind her own business, when my own words betray me. "Not really," I admit. "Are you?"

Halfheartedly, she shrugs. Absentmindedly, she reaches back and rubs her back. "I'll be fine," Kya unsurely promises, as if she's hoping she'll be okay more than she knows she will. "And you will, too. Do you remember how to get -?" She stops talking when I give her a dark look. Do I remember how to get to the place where I ruined my life? Yeah, I think I might remember. "Never mind. That was a dumb question."

Her eyes bore holes into the seat in front of us. "Is the car incident still bothering you?"

Kya's dark expression darkens even more. "Never mind. That was a dumb question," I echo.

For the first time since the plane ride, she lightens up. Her hard expression softens and she chuckles, casting me a sidelong glance with her pallor eyes. Something crazy and totally uncalled for makes my heart stop beating for a moment. Despite the oddity, I find myself smiling a bit anyways. The action feels foreign.

"Woah..." Kya teasingly sounds. "Did Ren Walker just...smile?"

"Did not," I lie, looking away.

"Next thing you know, Elektra's going to be giving out free hugs."

Two dings resonate over the intercom of the plane. "This is your pilot speaking," a woman's voice notifies. "We'll be making a two hour stop for refueling. We'll be close to a restroom and food chains, which should be open twenty-four-seven. We will be taking off again promptly at six."