Trouvaille ➝ Kai Parker [DISCON]

five

Chapter Five |

THE FIRST sense that comes back to me is sound. I can hear a muffled voice saying my name, and then I feel the agonising throbbing in my head and behind my eyes.

"Clementine?" The voice says and my brain seems unable to register it.

"Stefan?" I speak, scrunching my eyes tighter to try and relieve some pain. My ears begin to ring and I groan as I try to open my eyes. My vision is blurry and all I can see is shapes, "Where am I?"

"Same place you've always been." The voice responds.

I blink hard several times, clearing my vision. Infront of me sits a man with dark brown hair and blue eyes. Something suddenly rushes through my brain and I feel my face soften, "Kai?"

I watch his eyes narrow and his eyebrows slightly crinkle as though he's confused, before I can think any further my face screws up in pain again as my head throbs. I feel him move and place his hands on either side of my head.

He grumbles, "Magic."

"What?" I manage to ask through agonised breaths.

"I think someone's trying to get inside your head." Kai responds.

"How -- " Before I can ask I feel a burning sensation on my skin and scream. A few seconds later it stops, along with the pain and I'm left panting for breath. I press my hands to my head, "Ow."

I look up to see Kai examining my head with a curious look, "So, which one of your little friends was it?"

"It wasn't." I respond, still trying to ease the pain. All I remember is a name and a face, that's all I saw and heard.

"Who was it, Clem?" Kai asks.

My eyes flicker up to meet his, "Joshua."

Kai's face seems to drop as the name leaves my lips. One of his eyes slightly twitches and his shoulders move back a little as though he's taken back. He takes in a breath through his nose before he pushes himself to his feet, "Hm."

"What is it?" I ask, as it's clearly affecting him.

He shakes his head, "Nothing."

"You seem afraid." I tell him, furrowing my brows, trying to understand. He didn't strike me as one to be afraid of something.

Kai exhales a small laugh, "I'm not afraid."

He looks different, he doesn't look malicious or evil, he looks terrified. I frown, "What are you scared of? Joshu -- "

" -- I'm not scared of anything!" He yells, bringing forward a vein in his neck and forehead. My whole body shudders and I swallow the harsh lump in my throat.

"Okay." I respond quietly before I rush off towards the kitchen.

My head is still hurting and I need to rehydrate. I grab a glass and put it under the tap, letting cold water run into it. I down the cool liquid and place the glass back down on the surface.

I had no clue what just happened, or why it happened, or who Joshua was. I push my hands against the surface of the kitchen and close my eyes, easing the pain in my head.

I stand in silence, wishing for my friends to just appear right now and rescue me. I was praying for them to hurry up. What was taking them so long to save me? Were they afraid Kai would hurt them? Or had they already forgotten about me?

"Question." Kai's voice speaks from behind me, once again making me jump.

I calm myself and turn to face him, "What?"

"Before you collapsed you said something." Kai says, moving closer from the doorway, "You said that 'this isn't possible'. What isn't possible, Clem?"

"No reason." I say.

Kai glares at me, "Lie."

I begin to walk past him, "It's not important."

He grabs my arm and turns me to face him, "Clearly it is."

I frown at his tight grasp before questioning him myself, "Why are you so afraid of Joshua? Who is he?"

"I asked you a question first." Kai frowns back.

I scoff at him, "What are you? Five?"

"Okay, forget it." He says, letting go of my arm and holding his hands up in a defeated gesture, "Your answer could have possibly been some solution to us getting out of here but go ahead, ignore it, stay here forever. Maybe you can make friends out of cardboard and go travelling with them, afterall, you will be alone here, Clem. Forever."

I snort, "And you said I'm the dramatic one."

"You're stubborn." He states.

I frown again, "That's rich coming from you, Kai."

I turn around and start to walk away. He calls out after me, "Answer the damn question, then maybe I'll answer yours."

This causes me to come to a halt. I hesitate, because I don't want to tell him, I don't trust him. But I also want answers from him, I want to know who Joshua is and why someone that seems to fear nothing is afraid of him.

I take in a breath through my nostrils and then let my words come out with my exhaled breath, "I've been twenty-one for the past eighteen years."