A/N: Second story in my trilogy series! Sequel is "The Depth od Dawning" and the first story is "The Darkest Dawn"
Lost Before the Dawn
"Let me never, ever wake again…tonight, we'll fly so far away we'll be lost before the dawn…"
He looked at the girl before him with a listless expression. She had been crying earlier that day, most likely it was his fault. He knew that he should have tried to bite his tongue on that one; but that was just not in his nature.
Now here before him was the same girl, yet her skin was an unsightly pale color and he could see her body shaking slightly. She was lying on the floor with her face shifted slightly to the side. Her breathing was heavy and shallow; he could see the rise and fall of her back with every labored breath. It took a moment for it to register in his brain what he was seeing, or more that his brain was refusing to process the information set before him. From her body flowed a deep crimson liquid. As he looked closer the familiar color stained her legs that slipped out from a simple white dress that was faintly stained in the same color. He could see now that blood was present on almost every visible part of her body. He cringed and balled his fists so tightly that blood threatened to fall from his own palms. What was going on here?
"Mai?" His usually cool, confident, and unwavering voice seemed meek as it echoed through the large room. With a swift step forward he made his way to the fallen girl only to be stopped short by an invisible wall. He ground his teeth and slammed angrily against the barrier with his fist. "Damn!" He cursed as he moved and gently followed the perimeter of the restraint with an extended hand.
Much to his frustration the barrier extended completely around the girl allowing no access point for recovery. The barrier could not even be penetrated from above, which a pen from his suit coat pocket confirmed. Before he could take further action he heard the tell tale sounds of an approaching person. He turned his head hurriedly towards the entry way that he had just passed through moments before in time to catch the eye of a very out of breath and worried looking Miko.
"Naru!" She screamed as she collided with the wooden door frame. "Mai is missing and she was acting really strange the last time any of us saw her! We have to look for her."
The young boy's face remained that of a restrained professional but just under the surface he was frantically trying to calm his nerves and keep his composure.
"I know." He said with his normal cool demeanor. "I just found her" he said as he side stepped out of the way to provide the older women with a clear view of what he had just surveyed. He watched as her eyes widened and tears escaped from the corners of her eyes. Her hand rushed to cover her mouth as she stumbled forward towards the boy.
"Mai! Oh dear…, what happened?" She stuttered softly as she approached. "Naru we have to call an ambulance, now! She is bleeding!" She rushed forward but she only made it a few steps before she too was stopped dead in her tracks by the invisible wall. "What the hell is this!" She screamed as she hit at it angrily with the open palms of her hands and turned a tear stricken face to look imploringly at Naru.
"It is a barrier." He stated rather matter-of-factly. "It extends all the way around and even covers the top, there is no way in."
"A barrier!" The shocked women cried and turned her attention back to the fallen girl. It looked as though she was in pain as she could see Mai's body slightly tremble. Her raspy breathing was the only other sound that was audible besides her own quickened breathing. From the looks of the coagulated blood that stained the floor and her body, the injuries must have not happened recently. Unfortunately, Ayako could clearly see bright red liquid staining over the much darker thick blood that was already present. The bleeding had not stopped.
"Get everyone in here now." Naru's cold voice broke her from her observations. She turned her attention back to the younger boy and quickly dashed for the door to find the rest of the SPR team. Once the Miko had left the room and he confirmed her rushed footsteps could no longer be heard, he approached the barrier and placed his hand against it resting his forehead just above the place where his fingers touched. "Hold on Mai…we will get to you. I only hope one of the others can do something, I have already tried…" he trailed off and tensed as he pushed harder against the barrier, but even his power was no match for the barrier. "Damn…" he cursed as he pushed away from the wall and looked helplessly at the girl.