A Halloween Special

"Owwch! Why did we even have to come this way?" Kara moaned, rubbing her foot. It was dark, dreary, and a cold night away from their campsite. Kara's green cat-like eyes hardened. She didn't like this...forest. It was too creepy for comfort. And why did she have to be stuck with collecting firewood? Just because Erik's gauntelet was malfunctioning and Mel was playing hard to get, should she the youngest, be stuck with collecting firewood? Especially with...

"It's the only way." Rion's calm penetrating voice broke through her thoughts. "Just...bear with it."

Kara felt irritated. She was not going to let Rion, Mr. I'm-So-That get in her way.

"I'll show you what happens when you mess with me," Kara muttered, and turned around abruptly, in the dense forest overgrowth.

"Wha-" Rion swiftly turned back to look for Kara, who was running off in an opposite direction, into a darker, deeper portion of the forest.

"KARA! What do you think you're DOING?!"

Kara turned back from where she was, and gave a wink, her hands gesturing goodbye.

"Sayonara, Master Rion," she yelled, before scarpering off into the overgrowth.

A spread of panic passed over Rion's face. But Kara was gone.

Kara smirked as she made her way through the crumpled forest. It was slightly damp, and forbidding, but seeing the look on Rion's face was...priceless. The way his pale blue eyes widened, the way his blond hair jerked in the darkness...What?! Kara shook her head impatiently. What was she thinking?

She kicked a loose rock with her power boots and glanced up at the sky. There was no moon in the sky this night, so Kara felt a bit..wary.

If Erik was here, he'd have whipped up an electromagnetic power generated source from somewhere, Kara thought of her big brother with a pang. She could almost see his gauntelet...shining...in the...

Wait. That wasn't a gauntelet. It was a light. Kara instinctively fled towards the glowing orb like sphere. It floated for awhile, in the trees ahead, then faded away.

"Oh..."Kara murmured limply. It felt so...warm and familiar...

"It did, didn't it?" Kara jumped at the new voice, and turned around, face-to-face with a small, silver haired boy. He had a strange looking sigil on his cheek. He looked younger than she did, maybe around 7, or 8, and had large purple eyes, unblinking.

"He-Hello," Kara stammered, "What is a child like you doing out at this time in the night?" she blurted out.

"You shouldn't touch it," the small boy continued. "It's not good."

"What?"

"I can protect you from it," the boy added, his eyes seeming to be glowing. "Just let me touch your forehead."

Kara blinked. Huh? Touch her forehead?

But the boy looked so forlorn. And Kara thought after she'd let the kid touch her forehead she could find out where he belonged.

"Ok," she agreed and bent down a little. The boy leaned up, his face close to Kara's forehead. Kara felt her face colour. How...strange.

She closed her eyes as the boys silver hair brushed her cheek. This is getting weird, she thought, embarassed.

The boys purple eyes glowed, and he whispered, "Accept it."

His face was her level, and he reached near his forward, rather greedily, to somehow kiss her...

"SILVER ORB!!!" Kara jerked back at the last moment. Was it...

"Rion!" Kara cried out. "What are you doing?!" His silver bubbles had attacked the small boy, who now lay on the ground, beneath the darkness. "THAT'S A CHILD!!"

Rion reached her, his eyes narrowing, but a look of concern on his face appeared.

"Oh, really?" he asked, "Since when do children float?" Kara glance at the boy lying on the fround indecrulously. Indeed, he was somehow...levitating. There was a ghostly aura around him.

"Wha-?!" Kara blinked. Rion shook his head.

"Come, on! We have to go! There's something weird going on!"

The silver haired boy was slowly rising up in the air, and Kara let out a shriek. His purple eyes showed no pupils.

"Give her to me," he spoke in an inhuman voice, "And maybe I'll let you infidel live."

Kara felt weak at the knees.

"Never! I'm not going to let you lay a finger on her!" Rion's voice sounded braver than Kara felt. He turned to Kara and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Go, Kara. GO!"

Kara shook her head obstinately. "I'm staying with you."

"Kara…"

"How pathetic..." the inhuman voice spoke again. The child had somehow, mutated, its face gnarled and sadistic. Kara winced, but stayed strong.

"I won't leave you," she muttered, then again, a bit louder, "I won't LEAVE you!"

A flash of light suddenly crackled around them, and for a second, Kara couldn't see anything but the orb of light floating, the one she had seen before...

And the creature shrieked an inhuman scream of pain and melted...away...just...dissolved in the...sunlight...

Sunlight? Kara shook her head and looked around. It was morning already?

"Are you alright?" It was Rion speaking, warily. He forced a strained smile and collapsed. Kara immediately gave him support, she could feel his heart thumping and his arm around her shoulder. Colouring red, she turned her head away.

"How did you find me?" she managed to blurt out.

Rion's eyes opened slightly.

"The bright light...led me to you..."