It took a lot for a soldier to let down their shield.
From the time training began, to the time they died, S.T.O.R.M soldiers were trained to be obedient, loyal, and unbreakable. Friends were expected, but if it came down to it, you would save yourself and complete the mission. Companions were unnecessary.
You were your own savior.
Core-Tech was very different.
Each of the five teens that resided in Core-Tech came from different walks of life, each unique to their own pasts. Three, having grown up together, and two, being orphans, were bonded by a devotion that couldn't be broken.
It had taken six months, but Caroline had managed to become apart of the family that was Core-Tech.
And within those six months, it became apparent she was one of the many voices of reason within the group.
Instinct guided her, much like it did Chase - but their instincts were not the same.
And when they did not agree, their worlds clashed.
No matter what, the raven-haired boy and the golden-haired girl had each other's backs, despite their differences. Chase was the heart, she the mind.
Due to recent events, it became clear that maybe this relationship was more fragile than it looked...
The foundation had been trust, and yet secrets and lies had fed their way into the walls. Caroline's shield had returned to its respectful place over her emotions, and Chase did not apologize for his actions.
Both stood tall, but a divided house can not stand alone.
Else it fall to the slightest touch.
"I'm telling you, this was a bad idea."
Caroline crossed one arm over the other, frowning in disapproval as the floorboards creaked underneath her boots. A spider, smaller than her nail, crawled across the wall in front of her eyes. Her right hand slammed against the wall, killing the arachnid on contact.
"Ya' know, beatin' the wall isn't making' things better."
Caroline rolled her eyes at the snarky comment from Dax, removing her hand and wiping it across her dark gray pants. Being difficult with the boys was easier than she thought, especially with Jinja assisted when she was in the mood.
Currently, the ginger was not in sight, instead around the corner.
"If anything, you should be hitting Chase," Reminded Bren, moving past Caroline to meet up with the other female. He had the tablet sealed away in his bag, but a small notepad was in his left hand. He seemed to be jotting down notes on what lay on the wall, which looked like strange hieroglyphics from an angle, drawn out in the dust that had collected over time.
"It looks more like gibberish."
The black-haired boy of the group pushed past Caroline, earning a dark look as he passed. One hand ran through his messy hair, the other in his pants pocket. The so-called leader of the group looked more bored than anyone, and that was saying something, considering he had wanted to come in here in the first place.
"Why did we have to come in here anyway?" The ginger female piped in from beyond Caroline's sight.
"Because it looked sturdy and easy to hide in." Responded Chase.
"Sturdy?" Cackled the blonde soldier, using her shoulder to push by a door. The wooden door to the room was hanging by its hinges, and it was cut through the bottom - she could see everything inside. Well, she should have been, had it not been so dark.
"This place is about to fall apart!" As she spoke, the door creaked, and swung against the wall. Dust swirled across the room, earning a cough and a swipe of her hand.
This dusty hotel had been one of many pointless stops Chase and Beyal had made the past few days. This was the fifth hotel, and thirteenth overall. Possibly the worst. It was old, to say the least. Everything looked antique from the inside and out. The hotel, after doing some research, was discovered to have been abandoned almost one hundred years before. Broken records and shattered lamps slumped against the walls.
Caroline approached the window, seeing the open sky overhead. The window looked like a baseball had been chucked through the center, a large hole and cracks spreading up and down the glass. Core-Tech had explored the third floor for a while - whatever kid managed to hit a ball this high, props to them.
"Everything's just jake here."
Caroline repeated the words she saw atop a shattered record, drawing her finger over the black surface. The letters were gold and silver, and the case the record rested upon showcased a black and white picture of a young couple dancing, bright smiles on their faces like there was only each other in the world.
"What?" Called the others in unison from the hall.
"It's nothing," Caroline passed a broken mirror on her way out of the room, pausing to admire her outlook. Her ponytail, at the moment ending just below her hips, was messier than usual. She hadn't taken it out the night before to sleep, and a certain monk had managed to misplace her brush during the previous excursion to a hotel. A fresh set of a bandages covered her arms and neck. She still had a bit of dirt on the left shoulder of her white tee-shirt, and what seemed to be the ending of a cobweb had found itself to the base of her right boot.
"Fucking bugs," She cursed, moving back into the hall.
"I believe the correct term is arachnid, or, if I may guess, a Salticidae -"
"Beyal, now is not the time." Huffed the grumpy blonde.
Boredly, she turned the corner, swinging her arms by her sides and leaning her right shoulder against the wall. She observed Dax messing with the floorboards, possibly managing to cut the end of his finger in the process, and Bren sitting on the floor still jotting down designs. Chase was wandering around aimlessly, while Jinja seemed to be inspecting a painting. Beyal circled the corner a few seconds after, walking further down the hall.
"The flooring looks worse as we go on." Chimed the white-haired boy, having reached the stairs to the fourth floor.
"Good, we can leave -" Bren was off of the floor and swinging his back around, ready to place the notepad into its home.
"Not yet," Chase reminded, standing at the end of the hall. Playfully, he smiled towards Caroline.
She was not amused, instead turning her head with a grunt.
"You're going to make up some excuse for why we have to stay here, aren't you?"
Chase looked hurt, momentarily at least, but recovered quickly and returned his gaze to the others.
"We haven't checked every room. There could be something important. Why don't one of us fly up to each of the floors with our Monsuno?"
The hall was silent.
Something about the mood shifted. The air was tense, as if everyone was hanging on by a thread. Ahead of the others, Beyal had stopped moving.
"Monkfish, what's eatin' you?" Dax had stood and began smearing the blood on his jacket - as Caroline had predicted, he had a cut on his finger.
There was no response.
"Beyal?"
"Monkfish?"
"Snow White?"
In unison, the remaining members of Core-Tech took a step forward.
Beyal's left hand flew to be level with his chest, extended to the others.
"Stop!" His quiet voice cracked, eyes wide and staring at the emptiness underneath the floorboards.
"Do not move!"
The five teens halted.
''What is it, Beyal?" Quaked Bren, moving his bag onto his shoulder.
"I sense...I sense danger..."
"Danger?" Echoed Jinja, frozen with one leg crossed over the other.
"What sort of danger?"
Beyal's mouth opened to continue, but their answer came.
The entire building lurched.
It started as a quiet rumble, sending the walls shivering bit by bit. The first rumble turned into a violent vibration in seconds, alarming the six teens. Each of them began to move back step by step, some holding onto the wall, some onto each other. The shaking continued.
A picture fell as the violent shaking increased to the point where Dax, moving toward the stairs, fell to his knees.
It had seemed like an eternity, but only a few milliseconds had passed.
And the fear had settled in quicker than the shaking had began.
All at once, it was clear what was going on.
"Earthquake!"
The simultaneous shout from the six echoed off of the walls.
It was a fight to get to the stairs that would lead to the second floor. The group scrambled over one another, Chase leading them through the maze of doors. One by one, the six struggled to race down the trembling staircase.
"Help!"
A sickening crack sounded from the back of the group as they reached the bottom. Bren had fallen through one of the bottom floorboards, his hands scrambling to keep him up. The darkness of the first floor gave no indication if he would be safe if he fell.
The remaining five rushed to help him, but the first to reach him was Chase. The walls had ceased trembling from the earthquake, but tremors still rumbled from the aftermath. If the building didn't collapse soon, it would be a miracle.
"Go!" Chase shouted to Beyal, Jinja, Dax, and Caroline, grabbing Bren's hand. "I got him!"
There was no hesitation. The four bolted away with the hope the other two could make it out without falling- Chase could carry Bren if he needed to.
The ceiling was caving in when they reached the first floor, the girls near the front. Dax was pushing Beyal along, as the monk was struggling to keep up due to his constant stopping to check for the other two.
Reaching the front entrance, the group almost collided with Bren. He burst from the first hall, his cheek bleeding with a few scratches and a slight limp to his gait. Chase was not with him.
Beyal was the first to notice, even as he and Dax struggled to push away debris that blocked the front entrance. Nearly the entire front half of the second floor had come crashing down into the lobby. When they weren't trying to make a pathway, the boys were dodging floorboards.
"Where is Chase?"
Bren had Chase's jacket tied around his injured leg. He slumped against Jinja, duckling as a cracked painting crashed down beside them. The wound on his forehead was bleeding, trailing blood down his nose and almost to his lips. His ankle looked twisted. Thankfully, Jinja held him close, almost like a crutch.
"He's coming," Bren breathed, coughing slightly at the dust rising in the air. "We fell through the floor-"
There was a very rough tremor that caused the gang to stop. All five of their gazes raised to the ceiling, or lack thereof, in fear.
"Guys…" Caroline had been standing at the stairs, looking through a ripped piece of paper that seemed to be the discarded blueprints of the hotel. Her body was perpendicular to the large gaping hole in the second floor.
Furniture was tilting down the sides, resisting the urge to fall only by the wire of an old jukebox that had been in the hall.
Her heartbeat rang in her ears like a siren, her feet planted firmly on the ground. Something was keeping her in place - and it couldn't be fear. She was a soldier, even if only in the past. The word did not exist in her mind. Neither did panic, or terror, for that matter.
But there was something...Something holding her down. An inhuman force, making her unable to move as the seconds ticked by and her heartbeat drummed through her brain.
Jinja's airless cry came from not too far off, although it was just a buzz in her ears.
"There's a pathway through the window!"
Pathway….window...She was starting to feel faint. Her gaze had not moved from the central gap, but her vision was beginning to fade and blur. Her head was spinning, the furniture shifting into unrecognizable shapes, the trembling of the collapsing building throwing her mind into utter chaos. She was beginning to feel light-headed, and she reached behind her to grab for the stairs.
Her fingers grasped empty air.
"Hurry!" Dax's shout was followed by a loud grunt, and the sound of wood and glass shattering. The window had been broken.
She couldn't move.
The building shook again, and the remainder of the second floor came crashing down.
"Move!"
Caroline's breath was knocked from her lungs as a strong force barreled itself into her side. Across the wooden floor, she slid, coughing away dust and trying to regain mental focus. Her breath escaped in short, withered gasps, steadying itself as she moved to her feet.
It was no surprise who had decided to show up just in time.
Chase did not falter in his advance, however. Despite being in pain, from the look on his face and the cut along his right arm, he roughly pushed against her side.
Instinctively, as he stumbled slightly, she bumped him with her shoulder, both moving forward quickly as possible. Dodging falling floorboards was easy, up until it was clear the second floor had collapsed, and every other floor was following in suit. One step at a time, they moved forward, somehow managing to not knock the other over in the struggle to reach the window.
An unpleasant shove threw Caroline forward, her hands brushing against the wood as she rolled into a kneel. A loud crash followed, wood slamming against her shoulder. She winced, forcing herself to her feet as pain ricocheted through her arm.
She couldn't see Chase.
"Chase?" She cried, stepping forward toward the dresser that had fallen through the ceiling. It was laying in broken pieces, but she could not see through the darkness. Curse Chase and his black hair - this wasn't helping at all.
"I'm okay!" Her shoulders relaxed at the sound of his voice. No matter how mad she had been earlier, his tone caused her to feel at ease.
She hadn't lost her leader, after all.
She couldn't seem him until her hands were placed on the wood, trying to desperately move the obstacle. The pathway around was much too narrow, and she doubted he could risk the jump. Even reckless as he was, he knew better. The dresser would give out underneath his weight.
"Come on, help me push!"
When she glanced upwards, she met his eyes. Just over the dresser, she could barely make out the end of his nose, but even in the darkness his eyes glowed. He was out of her reach, although she still tried desperately to grab for his arm over the wood.
"Don't."
His tone was different from before. It didn't tremble, hardening near the end of the word. His eyes were dim, reflecting the harmful tone he had used.
"Don't?" Caroline challenged, feeling her bandage snag on a broken plank. She roughly pushed and pulled, tearing the gauze. Her shoulder blossomed with pain once more. "We need to get you out of here!"
Cold metal touched her fingertips, and Chase moved farther away.
Without much thought, she realized what the item now in her hand was. Chase had handed her his necklace, which was more like a whistle for Lock anyway, over the furniture. She could feel it through the ripped bandage, cold enough to the touch to send a chill up her uninjured arm.
"Chase-" Her voice cracked, but he cut her off before she could continue.
"Keep that while I find a way out. Don't want it to get caught or fall off."
"But Chase-!"
"No time! Just go!" His voice was far away now, as if he had begun running off. With the planks falling from overhead, she couldn't tell what was footsteps and what was breaking cabinets.
She couldn't see his eyes anymore.
"I'll find another way out!"
The ex-soldier backed away from the wardrobe, hitting a fallen plank away as it neared her face. Her hands flew to cover her head, pieces of broken planks bouncing off her fingers.
"Chase...don't be stupid…" She whispered fearfully, knowing the danger of running off from a clear exit.
If they just tried to move the cabinets...If they worked together...They didn't have much time, but they could try...And even if they didn't make it…
"Don't worry about me! Go!"
Caroline had to trust him. He'd gotten out of worse...If he wanted to find a way out, he would. He was Chase Suno, he claimed he could do anything. He might as well have. All she was doing now was wasting time, endangering herself, possibly the others if they were waiting on her.
With one last glance into the darkness, she bolted. Over the broken planks, she leaped, stumbling once when her heel was caught. The closer she got to the window, where she saw Bren being picked up by Dax and carried through, the more her head ached. It was a deep, melodic throb, her blood pulsing like a drum. The moonlight was dim outside, but it was all that was leading her to the safety of the outer world.
Forcing herself to run the rest of the way, she slammed her foot into the wood just behind the window. Overhead, sound erupted, somewhere between the entire world crashing down and the sky imploding..
As she jumped, she didn't know what went first. Her sight, or her hearing.
She clutched the necklace in her palm, her mind and consciousness fading away.
Caroline wasn't sure what caused her to pass out.
The inhale of dust, maybe?
No, that wasn't possible…
Had she hit her head? That was most likely…
Maybe...exhaustion…?
No, she had handled worse….
It didn't matter how.
When she came to, the first thing she realized what that she was in pain.
Her shoulder still ached, her headache focused on her forehead. The back of her legs were sore, and the metal necklace was cold on her fingers.
But, the pain did not compare to an overwhelming feeling washing over her head. She was trembling, almost frightened. It was ominous, forming a pit low in her stomach, and as the seconds passed she could feel her anxiety spreading.
The sky was dark navy, nearly black. She was laying on her side, and as she shifted to her back, her shoulder brushed a broken piece of wood. She flinched away, glaring under her arm at the unpleasant item.
It took a moment for her to realize there was rubble all around her, and there was no sign of the others.
She jolted upwards, her eyes wide with panic. As far as she could see, there was rubble. Bricks broken into pieces, glass from the cracked windows scattered about, wooden furniture in piles and over bits of the broken stone plating. The moonlight had all but disappeared, peaking through the clouds in small shattered streaks. Desperately, she swerved her head, scanning the horizon for a sign she wasn't the only one…
Just a glimpse of white hair...Or a ripped beanie...or a bright blue jacket...a wisp of messy black hair...broken glasses…
Anything...please...please be safe…
There was a groan from behind her.
Whirling around, she heard the rough grunt, followed by the crashing of wood against the dirt path once below. Emerging from the rubble, his beanie tilted off of his head and his jacket ripped across the sleeve, was Dax.
He slumped against the broken shelf in front of him.
"Dax!"
With a slight stumble, she slid across the gravel to her companion, clutching the shelf to help her sit up to his level. The dark-skinned boy shook his head, his eyes closed and his hands holding his forehead.
She didn't touch him, as he recoiled away from her when his eyes opened.
"Hey..hey..It's just me." She coaxed, meeting his flattery colored eyes.
"Hey, 'punzie." He replied in a rasp, his irises trembling. He looked ready to pass out, but, knowing Dax, he'd push himself even further. His beanie fell to his shoulder, but he didn't seem to mind.
Caroline craned her neck, wincing slightly at the ache in her collarbone. She couldn't see anyone over Dax's shoulder.
"You okay?"
Dax huffed into his collar, resting his forehead on the wood.
"Ace," He huffed stubbornly.
A soft whimper came from just beyond Dax, far out of the ex-soldier's reach.
Before either could help, a mess of white hair emerged from the rubble, from underneath two tables leaning against each other. Beyal spit awkwardly, wiping his face with his sleeve. He had a trail of blood coming across his left cheek, and part of his hair was dripping. The wound must have been somewhere underneath his hair.
When he saw the other two, his gray eyes brightened.
"My friends," The other two sighed in relief as the monk pulled himself over, sitting on his knees just beside Dax. He leaned on the wood with his shoulder.
Reaching over the wooden shelf, Caroline brushed her bandaged palm against his cheek, wiping it free of blood.
"Are you all right?" He questioned, nodding in thanks towards the female.
Her hand hesitated, brushing more of the blood from his face. Drawing away from him, she gave a small nod.
"I think so."
Dax gave a small nod.
"We need to find the others."
As if on cue, Jinja's voice was heard to the left. The trio turned their heads, watching as the ginger haired female struggled to push broken bricks off of her back. She did not seem hurt, but her frantic expression meant someone else was.
"Guys..guys! I think Bren's hurt!"
Simultaneously, the group stood, with great difficulty. Dax was limping the first few steps, but swallowed his pride and allowed Beyal's support. Caroline leaned against large stones as they passed them, having not recovered all of her strength.
The necklace was around her left wrist, caught between two of the bandages as they overlapped. It swayed slightly as she walked, but she didn't notice.
Stepping over a disheveled mattress, the girl kneeled next to Jinja. Bren laid underneath various plants of dark oak wood, rotted and cracked through various places. His glasses were off to the side, a crack down the center of the left lens, and he was laying in a ball, one arm over his head and the other around his legs.
"Bren.."
The self-proclaimed genius stirred, whining slightly as his eyes opened. They looked glazed over, fearfully glancing at the two girls that were in front of him.
As she was closer, Jinja began pulling the planks off of him. Dax and Beyal, now reaching them, helped Bren crawl out. His glasses were grabbed by Caroline, nearly being stepped on by Dax.
Once he was free, the group sat him up, his shoulder leaning against Jinja. The jacket was still wrapped firmly around his ankle, one sleeve dangling slightly across his foot.
Caroline unfolded his glasses, brushing the dust off of them, and placed them at the end of his nose.
Trembling slightly, he pushed his glasses to their proper place, blinking a few times to adjust his sight.
"How long were we out?"
"I don't know," Jinja admitted, checking his back and sides for any signs of blood. His forehead had been wiped clean by her sleeve, just as Caroline had done with Beyal.
"Could have been a few minutes…" Dax reminded, but, due to the amount of the clouds overhead, it was clear it had been more than just a few.
"It was eleven fifteen when we entered the hotel." Beyal whispered, bringing a hand to his throat and massaging his skin.
Jinja pulled up her sleeve to check her watch, but to no avail. As she pulled it to her ear, she shook her head, unlatching it and tossing it to the side.
"Stupid thing is broken."
Caroline glanced upwards, blinking as she spotted the moon. The clouds were still covering most of the illuminate orb, the shattered moonlight rays all but disappearing. It was becoming harder to see.
"If I had to guess, I'd say it's around three...But I don't know."
She glanced at the others. Beyal, with the mat of blood on his head, helping Dax remain upright. Jinja, trailing her hands along Bren's shoulders, checking for any injuries that would be hidden under his jacket. Dax, brushing off his shoulders, stretching out his beanie to place back on his head. Bren, taking off his glasses, messing with his broken lens.
And herself, now staring at her palms. Some of her bandages were ripped, and she couldn't decipher which was blood from her own wounds or what had come from Beyal. Her fingertips were bruised, a thin scar across one of her exposed knuckles.
"Wait…Where…" Everyone looked up as Bren spoke, his lips trembling slightly.
"Where's what, Bren?" Jinja answered.
"Where's Chase?"
"Chase," Caroline repeated the name, moving her head in unison with the other's. As predicted, they couldn't see Chase at all. Considering most of the rubble was in heaps, and whatever wasn't in heaps couldn't fit a teenager underneath it…
"Chase!"
She and Jinja stood, although the other female sat back down rather quickly. Bren was pulling on her sleeve, leaning into her side. The ginger placed a hand on his shoulder, reassuring him she would not move.
"I can't go look. Bren's in a lot of pain. Beyal?"
The monk shook his head, glancing at Dax. The Lowlander's eyes were closed, and his head was swaying slightly. He looked ready to pass out any moment.
"Dax and Bren need attention. Jinja can not handle both. I will stay."
Caroline nodded swiftly, her head throbbing and her fist clenching the necklace.
The cold metal grazed her fingertips.
"Chase!"
She called, stepping over a low-lying shelf. Her hands cupped around her mouth. Pausing after calling for him, she unhooked the necklace, placing it around her neck as she kneeled down to look underneath one of the broken bookcases.
All she discovered was bits of ripped paper and crumbled hardback covers.
Not here…
She called for Chase, searching across the rubble around her. The others were talking to each other in hushed voices. From what she could pick up, Dax had passed out, or was fading in and out of a coherent talking state.
"Did you find anything?" Jinja called when Caroline stood up to move to the next area, about five feet away.
"No. We have a lot to look through, and he was...right behind me…"
Halting, her words faltered.
He hadn't been right behind her.
He had run off...But he couldn't have gone far…
Stop it. He's fine and you know it.
"What was that?" Beyal called to her, having not heard her response.
Caroline raised her gaze to look at the group. They seemed farther away now, their voices only an echo. Doubt layered her voice as she said, "I said we have a lot to look through! I just need to keep looking. I'll find him!"
Shaking her head once to clear away doubt, she continued her search.
Even if her thoughts did not stray from the main goal, there was still the aching in her head, and the feeling of ominous dread in her stomach.
Was Chase really okay?
After a while, she wasn't sure how long she had searched. Every time she would call for Chase, she would wait a few seconds, leaning down to search the rubble nearby. Each result was the same. No sign of the young Suno.
Eventually, she was just stumbling around blindly. Her throat was sore, and her fingers numb. She was beginning to get desperate, leaning down to shuffle through piles of rubble upon rubble.
"Come on...You have to be here...somewhere…"
It was more like empty words, filling up the pit in her stomach. Sitting at the foot of a large pile of broken beds and large clocks, she found herself staring at the hands. Many were stopped, cracked through the center of the glass. Some were missing Roman Numeral figures, some missing their dials. She could hear one still ticking, but which one it was, she couldn't tell.
"Find anything?" One of the group called.
She pretended she didn't hear.
Straining herself, she called for her friend again.
"Chase! Chase, come on, this really...isn't funny!"
Her fingers passed over an odd object as she began to stand. She stopped, her head snapping downwards to look at the item. Her hands shuffled through the debris, tossing a plank haphazardly to the side. It took a moment, but her fingers eventually found the item. As her hands traced the exterior and her mind reeled in excitement, she realized what she had found.
"I..I found…!" Breathless, she stumbled backwards, swiping dust away from the revealed core. It was dark blue, nearly cobalt, with a black peg and white buttons. The essence inside shifted, a mix between teal and light blue. Nearly dropping the core, she blew away the last bit of dust, kissing the Core-Tech symbol and thrusting her hand into the air.
"Deepsix's core! Deepsix is okay!" The shark-wolf monsuno's core had been in Chase's pocket, she was sure… If she had found the core...Chase had to be nearby!
Placing his core inside of the stock clip next to her launcher, she hobbled slightly to the left, making her way around the stack of rubbish. With a burst of energy, she pushed through the mangled planks and through the buried clocks.
"Chase! I know you're in here somewhere... C'mon, just speak up!"
The entire pile was discarded and spread out by the time she reached the bottom.
No Chase.
For a moment, she sat. Her hands on her knees, looking at the dross ahead.
He's...not here..
She blinked, breathing heavily. Tilting her head forward, she stared at the necklace dangling across her chest. Her arms gave out, her upper body sliding slowly across the revealed dirt, her hands trembling. Her back was against one of the upper halves of a clock.
She could hear the clock ticking...The only one still working…
Immobilized, she moved her eyes back to the necklace.
She knew the whistle worked when he called for Lock...Maybe if she tried…
Numbly, she fumbled the necklace around in her fingers. It was a challenge to bring the necklace level with her face, her head resting on the ground. She had to steady her hands enough to not drop it, placing the end of the whistle on her lips. She prayed to whatever god or goddess would listen, and she blew.
A pathetic noise answered her. A dull buzz, coming from the end of her lips mostly. Sitting up, she held the necklace, blowing harder as if it would help. All it did was make her head spin from lack of air, and her hands cold from her own breath.
It was painful to watch.
"Caroline, are you all right?"
Beyal.
Why hadn't she thought of it before? Even if she couldn't understand how or when, the monk was prone to visions, as was Chase...He could help!
"Beyal!" The monk looked surprised at her sudden outburst, even as she stumbled over the riffraff to get to him and the other three. Her eyes were wide, a joyful grin slithering across her lips. She fell to her knees in front of the white-haired male, with her hands on her thighs and her grin spreading even further.
"You get visions all the time! This must mean something, right?" Shaking with elation, she pulled out Deepsix's core, extending her palm to him.
Dax had awoken while she was searching, and was propped against a piece of discarded mattress from Bren's previous abode. The injured boy was next to him, Jinja sitting ahead and checking their heads for fevers and any other signs of sickness.
Beyal, flustered, shook his head.
"We have been over this before, my friend. I can not summon foresight as I please-"
"Please! Just try!" Caroline pleaded, placing the core in his hand. Her fingers twined awkwardly together, her grin beginning to fade.
"You have to! He's our leader, he has to be okay!"
Beyal looked down at his palm, gray eyes dark with sorrow. Slowly, he handed her back the core, curling her fingers gingerly to where it would not fall. Sitting back on his knees, the monk clenched his fists, shaking his head.
"I am afraid...I can't. If Chase has not been found...he must be-"
"Don't finish that sentence." Caroline cut him off, rushing to stand again. Her voice cracked, her breath escaping in hysterical hiccups.
"He's just..hiding! Yeah, that's it!"
She ignored the look of pain Bren had as he looked up at her, shaking his head. She backed away, holding Deepsix's core level with her face.
"He wouldn't just… go, right? He's just in a different place than I was looking! He has to get Deepsix's core, after all." With crazed, ignorant laughter, she stepped further away, moving towards a discarded heap. Even if it was too small to hold even Bren inside without hurting him, she had to try..
"Chase, come on, this isn't cool!" She croaked, swinging her hand forward as if calling the boy or his monsuno.
"You need to come and get Deepsix. He'll miss you!" Her cries became shorter and more raspy. Having been yelling for what had to be over an hour, she had held out for a while. Swaying Deepsix's core again, she started almost wailing.
"I'm not going to hold onto his core for long!"
"Please, don't.."
Caroline stopped, glancing back over her shoulder at Jinja. The other female was kneeling, turning Charger's core over and over in her hands. She looked hurt, even if the blood on her clothes was from wiping off Bren.
"It's no use."
Caroline laughed half-heartedly, putting the core inside of her pocket. She placed her foot on a plate of stone, pushing on it lightly to adjust her boot.
"Don't be so pessimistic, Jinja! We just...have to keep looking.."
Jinja wasn't the type of person to cry.
Her voice trembling and hands clenching her pants, she turned to Caroline, shaking her head.
"If you couldn't find him near Deepsix's core, he's gone! Squished, annihilated, dead, however you want to put it! Stop looking for him when there's no hope."
"But, Jinja, if we just look-"
"No! I'd rather leave with the false hope Chase died peacefully and not find his mangled and decrepit body and have to explain to Jeredy what his son now looks now. Just because you've seen your fellow soldiers die doesn't mean we want to see our best friend and leader postmortem! Do you really want to find him?"
Caroline dropped her hands to her sides.
"But….Chase...had to have made it out...He said he'd find another way…"
Jinja turned her head away, looking at the forest to the east. Her eyes closed, she bit back the tears threatening to spill over.
"If he didn't respond when you were looking for him...I doubt he ever will again."
Caroline hiccupped into her hand.
He couldn't just die. He was Chase Suno, for god's sake! He'd been through so much.
Correction, they had been through so much.
Countless battles against S.T.O.R.M. and EKlipse… Challenging Strike Squad and the Punk Monks… Through Bren's turmoil over Quickforce, and through her brother's death.
Finding his dad again and figuring out his mother was alive…
There was no way he was dead.
He still had a world to save.
"He...he can't…"
Her hands were around her mouth, and she could feel the end of her bandages along her lips. She couldn't tell when she started trembling, or when her vision became blurred with uncontrollable tears.
Beyal spoke up.
"I am...so sorry...my friends...You spent your childhood with him. Jinja, Bren, I am sorry...But I do not think this event was avoidable…"
Caroline screamed.
Roughly, she started pounding on the stone she had placed her foot on earlier. She aggressively started shouting incoherently, almost as if she was angry.
You stupid...stupid..asshole!
The others were quiet as she assaulted the stones. Her hands had gone numb long before, and her bandages were becoming loose.
Continuously, she beat on the rock, her voice fading. She didn't have the energy or the heart to make a sound anymore, only soft, irritated grunts escaping her. Her pounding soon became mindless punching, in a slow, rhythmic cadence.
When you said you would find a way out, I didn't think you meant just dying!
Pain exploded from her left arm. Wincing, she grabbed her wrist, looking at her bandages.
Fresh blood trailed across the exposed part of her palm, the S.T.O.R.M. insignia burn igniting with pain. Even more drops of crimson fell across her knees as she slowly unwrapped her bandages up to her wrist, horrified at the sight ahead. Carefully, she unwrapped her right hand.
Her knuckles and palms were coated in bruises and specks of dirt from the beating of the stone. Both burns on her hands were faded, caked in mud and the new lines of blood.
"D-damnit.."
Her body shook with awkward convulsions, her hands wrapping around her stomach.
She hadn't had an attack in a long time….She hadn't let herself. This was an exception.
Hunching forward, she sniffled, her vision blurring. Blood smeared her white shirt as she clutched her sides, the pit opening in her stomach. Her entire body ached, her heartbeat drumming in her ears.
"Stupid Chase! How could you just leave?" She screamed to the ground below, her voice raspy and broken. Her cries were meant for no one, for everyone.
"This is what happens...When you try to be a hero!" She wailed, raising her head. She screamed to the sky, to the moon, to the stars, anyone who would listen to her heartbroken cries.
"What happened to saving the world? You sick, suicidal bastard!" Her voice echoed, quickly turning into hiccups. Her body had yet to stop trembling, even as she removed her hands from her torso.
Caroline rubbed her head, her fingers curling around locks of her fringe.
"Why...why, Chase?"
She felt a hand brush her shoulder.
"Caroline Night," Beyal offered, kneeling to her right. She didn't look up at him, but she could see the sleeves of his robe, and feel his gray gaze locked on her face. Her cheek, at least, which was all he could see past her arm.
"You, Bren, and Dax are in need of medical attention...We must leave."
Caroline shook her head.
"Please do not argue...This tragedy is a pain for all of us. We can mourn our fallen friend later, when we are not in danger…" Beyal's voice was softer than usual, but it was a blessing. Her body was ceasing to shake, but her tears continued to flow.
"Okay….okay…" Her voice was almost inaudible.
Beyal pat her back once, but afterwards his hand disappeared from her back. He had moved back to the others.
Caroline did not move.
You tried to be a hero….
Chase liked to joke about being invincible. Always, he would claim he was a hero, and would proudly save who he claimed to be his princess. She thought that was part of the reasoning for her nickname, other than the obvious fact that her hair was mid-thigh length. Usually, they were pretty fair about whose fault a situation was, or who had done the most work.
Even after their heated arguments over the past few days, he had still sacrificed himself to save her. Something no one would have done in the beginning.
Well, I guess you got your wish, Chase..
She lowered her hands from her face, sinking to the ground in a feeble position. She squinted her eyes shut, too exhausted to move.
You finally saved Rapunzel.
Stupid Chase…
She wept.