'Please.' The little girl signed, fear all over her face. 'Don't do this. If you do you won't come back.' "You know as well as I do I cannot turn down a challenge." He replied, zipping up his bag. "I'll return in three days. By then, everything will be settled." 'You and I both know it will not-' "I said I'll be back." He said heading for the door. "And I won't return a day later." As he walked out the door, he looked back at her sad eyes begging him to stay. He normally couldn't fight those eyes, but today was different. He left without another word to her. Screams came from behind him; he looked back to see his home in flames. She was in danger. Before he could rush in to help, a pair of shadow hands grabbed him; pulling him farther into the darkness. He could hear their screams; HER screams "Let me go!" He shouted, struggling to get free. "I have to save her!" "For what?" The shadow asked, pulling him further away. "You left her. You are free to do as you wish. Why not keep running?" "Not I won't!" He yelled, pulling harder. "I'm not gonna lose her! I'm not gonna lose Tallie!"
"Tallie!" Cole yelled, sitting up in bed.
"Wha-ahh!" Jay yelled as he fell from his top bunk.
"Huh? What?" Kai asked, sitting up. "What's going on?"
"It appears Cole was having a nightmare." Zane stated getting up from his bunk. "Though, my memory banks don't have any recollection of you ever telling us of a 'Tallie.'
"I never did." Cole stated, swinging his legs over the side. "I don't know who she is."
"Whoa time out." Jay said, getting up. "You're having dreams about some girl you don't know?"
Cole sighed. "They started after that whole deal with Chen. Bits and piece mostly."
"Well, what did you see?"
"A girl. She can't be any more than 3 or 4 year old. She uses sign-language to talk to me; to tell me not to go. But I don't listen to her." He looks at his hands sadly. "When I turn around, her home's on fire. Screams can be heard from all over the place. When I try to help, I get pulled back. And just when I'm about to reach the main part of the blaze, I wake up."
The other ninja looked at eachother in various stages of shock. Their brother had been going through this for so long and he never said anything?
"Well I'm not a nindroid like Zane," Kai said, jumping down from his bunk. "But I think 'Tallie' is the little girl trying to get you to stay."
"That seems most logical." Zane stated. "We should discuss this with Sensei in the morning."
"Yeah, that sounds like the best idea." Jay said through a yawn.
As they all got settled, Cole couldn't shake the feeling in the pit of his stomach. Something was going to happen. Something big.