Beneath The Blackwood Sky | ✓

Chapter Eleven: Pranking 101

"AH, A DOGGY!" SHAY EXCLAIMED AND RAN TO the stray dog at high speed. Kai sighed exasperatedly. There they were, in a part of the coastline they never bothered to explore. Even after living in Blackwood his entire life, Kai kept finding new places. But living in Blackwood, he knew it would never fail to surprise him.

But this time, Kai was too tired to appreciate the beautiful scenery around him or to even feel surprised. He wanted to bang his head against one of those wicked edges of the rocks or roll on the sand sulking. But instead, he resorted to just sighing. Kai didn't want a perfectly damaged brain, thank you very much.

"Shay, this is like the fifteenth dog you saw here," Kai said, his voice had taken on a distinct tone of whining. Shay ignored Kai and continued to ruffle the dog's silky black hair. "Never thought this part of the beach would be packed with little pups and dogs," Rose said and everyone nodded in agreement.

They were encountered by little cats, dogs, birds, squirrels and whatnot. Shay loves animals and Kai was sure she wouldn't leave it that easily. Ever since the time he met Shay, her every encounter with an animal ended with any of them dragging her away from the animal, both the animal and Shay shrieking.

Kai was glad that they didn't bring Leo with them. Sure, Kai loved Leo but Leo being a friendly dog would whine continuously if they tried to separate him from his new friend, and Shay would whine along with him too. With both whining and giving them the puppy eyes, they would have to agree.

Kai would trust Leo and Shay to come back with a medal if they sent them to the Olympics for pair sulking. If Leo met all these dogs, Kai thought, it would take years for us to come back.

First, all that smelling suspiciously and trying to figure out if that dog is worthy to be his friend and then all that excited 'woof' and rolling over to the ground and playing. Then they would have to take him back home and Leo would sulk and sulk for days, turn his head away if Kai approached him. That simply breaks Kai's heart. Kai could assure that Leo is an expert in ignoring people. He would refuse to talk to them until they took Leo to meet his 'friend.'

After eating lunch, all of them had come out for a short walk. And what kind of short walk takes four hours? They were wandering around the beach and that was when Shay spotted something which Kai doesn't remember now and ran to follow it.

Shay was a champion sprinter, was a part of their school's track and field team. They struggled to keep up with her. Then they found themselves in an entirely different location, a place hidden which they never came across. The only reason Kai wasn't fazed by the strange surroundings around him was because of the reassuring presence of his phone with him.

Even though he had looked around for at least a thousand times, Kai had the eerie feeling that someone was behind him. Behind him with an injection in his hand, ready to plunge its contents to Kai which would somehow make him kill himself. Kai hadn't felt this restless since the accident.

He glanced at Will who was sitting beside him, drawing something and then at Shay. Kai couldn't imagine what they were going through right now. They were the bravest people Kai had ever known. He shuddered as he remembered the car accident.

That day was too perfect, and something had to happen. His family was coming back from another Isle, the cab driver driving to the airport. Suddenly, Kai heard the squeal of tires, the unmistakable sound of metal crushing against metal, his sister who had been a toddler then clutching Kai. Kai had hugged his baby sister to his chest, then his world turned black.

He remembered waking up in a hospital afterwards, and sheer terror had greeted him. He had panicked for a minute, the list of the worst possibilities that could've happened to his family greeted him. Kai remembered how he felt then: as if he'd been dropped down one of those cliffs in Blackwood. His heart had pounded against his chest, and Kai had wailed out loud. That was when he saw his mother enter the room, concern etched on her face.