Chapter Two
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"Karone!" Andros shouted with desperateness in his tone. He sprung swiftly into an upright position and could feel sweat dripping down the sides of his face. With his breathing just as accelerated as his heartbeat, it took him a moment to regain himself before he reached his arms up to pull his long hair back into a ponytail.
The event of his sister's kidnapping was haunting him once again. Not that the nightmares were anything new to him; he has had them every now and then since Karone has been abducted. Yet lately, especially since he found out that Astronema is his long lost sister, there hasn't been a night he could sleep through without being awakened by the memory of that tragic incident.
Pushing himself up from the bunk bed and onto his feet, he turned to his left and reached out for a metal picture frame. The two photos of him and Karone while little only intensified the sadness and sorrow that welled up in his heart.
Outside, Ashley's quick and light steps hardly made a noise on the floor of the hallway. Yet the now empty hall wasn't occupied with silence either. Besides the ever humming noise coming from the dozen engines of the ship, she could hear a thumping sound that was growing louder by the second. Slowing to a stop in front of Andros' bedroom door, she put a hand up to her chest and took a step back.
"My heart, why is it beating so fast?" She whispered softly to herself.
Then it all came back to her: the stare. It was that lifeless stare Andros bore earlier; it looked as though evil had taken over the whole universe and all he could do was stand there and stare at the results of his failure. Never before has she seen him look that way, so depressed and full of emptiness.
"Andros?" As she took a step forward, she called his name while the door swish opened. "Are you okay?"
"Ashley," His voice came out hoarse and he hesitated briefly before replying to her question. "I'm fine. What are you doing out of your room so late? It's way past midnight."
The room was dark besides for the occasional specks of light shining through the window from the stars out in space. Though there must be millions of stars out there, it was hardly enough to illuminate his face. But even if it were bright enough, Ashley dared not look.
"I thought I heard you yell, so I came to check up on you." She explained, holding his hand to lead him back to the bunk bed. Together, they sat down side by side and stared into the darkness before them. "I'm sorry we didn't get to talk about your sister today after the fight. Zhane's party lasted longer than I expected with his heroic stories and it would've been rude to interrupt him."
"It's okay," His monotone response seemed to indicate otherwise, "I didn't really want to talk about it."
She arched her brow and finally looked at him for the first time since she entered. "Andros, don't do this. I want to help you, we all do."
Slowly, he gave a nod as though only to satisfy her, "I know."
She heaved a sigh and knew there was no way to penetrate through that defensive barrier of his tonight. Yet she couldn't just get up and walk away to leave him like this. There was only one thing she could think of that might make him feel better though. Leaning closer, she extended her arms and wrapped them around his neck, resting her chin on his shoulder. "When you're ready to talk, I'll be right here."
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Grass as green and dense as thick carpet covered the entire soccer field of the Angel Grove park. The sun was shining bright up in the clear skies and an occasional breeze of cool air made the temperature ideal for a soccer game.
Andros sat at the second row of the bleachers alongside his friends except for Carlos, who was out on the field warming up for his game. They were all very proud of Carlos for making the school team when the semester had started, but with everything else going on in their lives, this was the first time they were able to cheer for him as a group.
"Today's match is a pretty big game for our school team, if we can beat our opponent, we'll tie for first place with them." T.J. sat in between Cassie and Zhane and noted to them. Ashley was on the other side of Cassie, but she seemed too occupied with deep thoughts like Andros that he didn't want to disturb them.
Just as the whistle blew to begin the soccer game, another soccer ball accidentally hit the side of the bleachers where Andros was sitting. He took his eyes off of the match and turned to the ground beside him. While he reached to pick it up, a chubby little hand tapped him and the shoulder.
"Mister, can I have my ball back?" The little boy gave him a wide grin, which revealed a few missing teeth. "Please?"
"Sure, here you go," A smile formed on Andros' face as he handed the round ball back to him. Innocently, the little boy ran off towards a more shaded area of the park and continued playing. Andros kept his gaze on the adorable youngster and his smile grew wider, but only until a little girl emerged from behind a tree and joined the boy. He could tell that the two children were related, and the happiness shown on their faces brought him bittersweet memories.
"Goal! Angel Grove High strikes first!"
Loud screams and cheers erupted on the bleachers and most of the rangers were part of the ever noisy crowd. Arms waved in the air and someone at the front had gotten out of his seat to start a victory dance.
Ashley laughed along with her friends and turned to her right, "Andros, look…" Puzzled, she arched her brow and looked around her surroundings. He was no longer sitting beside her anymore, but where did he go? Why did he suddenly walk off by himself without telling her?
By the time she finally decided to stop scanning the area for traces of him, she realized that everyone but her had taken their seats once again. Awkwardly, she bent her knees and sat back down in her spot.
"Everything okay, Ash?" Cassie could sense that something was troubling her best friend. "Where did Andros go?"
"I… I don't know," She replied hopelessly, "Cassie, I really don't know anymore."
The tone in her voice was different from usual, and it hardly took Cassie a second to recognize that it was one of uncertainty and insecurity. Quickly, Cassie directed her attention from the soccer game to her friend, "Does this have anything to do with Astronema being his sister?"
Ashley sighed and nodded, "Yes, and you know how before yesterday's fight, you all went down to fight Astronema while I went to get Andros from his room? I walked in without knocking and he had the strangest look on his face."
"What do you mean?" Cassie asked curiously and tried her best to block out the noise from the crowd. Their school team's opponent had just scored to tie the game at 1-1. "The strangest look on his face?"
"It was horrible. He had this hollow stare and it was like I could see right through his eyes. There was no emotion or any traces of that lively spark you're supposed to have," Just thinking back to the sight sent chills down her spine, "And last night, I heard him yelling in the middle of the night."
Cassie widened her eyes, "Was it a nightmare?"
"Yeah, he was dreaming about Karone's kidnapping." She let out another sigh, "The hardest thing is that he refuses to talk to me about it. I stayed with him for the whole night, waiting for him to open up, but he never did. I wish I knew what he's thinking, I'm really worried about him."
That hopeless feeling of not knowing was all too familiar to Cassie. It always frustrated her and upset her to wonder endless possibilities and not be able to get any confirmations. Like the Phantom Ranger's whereabouts and his safety; how much she wishes everyday that she'd be able to hear from him again, just to know he's well. "Sometimes, all we can do is wait. Wait until he's ready to talk."
T.J. broke up the intense girl talk with an excited note, "Girls, look, Carlos has the ball and it looks like he's going for the net!"
Like everyone else watching the soccer match, Zhane's eyes followed the ball closely until something out of the ordinary captured his divided attention. Off to the side of the field, two young men struggled to climb up the thick trunk of a tree. Known for being nosy, Zhane slipped away from the bleachers unnoticed and casually walked over to the two strangers.
"Jump a little - achoo - higher, will you? Achoo!" Bulk smacked the back of his partner in crime while having a sneezing fit. "Higher, so - achoo- you can grab that branch - achoo - and pull up!"
Skull saluted his friend and began another series of unsuccessful attempts at climbing the tree. The story behind their act was simple. Bulk's grandmother went out of town and asked Bulk, whom unknown to his grandmother is allergic to cats, to take care of her fluffy animal for the time being. Unfortunately, when the cat ran away, it climbed up on a tree and can't get down.
"What's going on here, do you guys need some help?"
"You talking to us?" Through puffy and watery eyes, Bulk could see a blonde young man with a huge grin standing in front of him. "That cat up the tree, it's stuck, and we want it down."
After yet another failed attempt at reaching the tree branch, Skull was ready to give up. "I'm going to look for a park ranger or something to see if he has a ladder." Before he walked off, he turned to Zhane. "Stay here and watch the cat."
Though the cat was quite a distance up the tree, Bulk's allergy was obviously still in effect. He was sneezing so much that he stumbled forward and tumbled to the ground.
Zhane did a full scan of the park and acknowledged that people were either too focused on the game or other activities to be able to notice his next stunt. Raising his hand in the air, he pointed it in the direction of the cat and wiggled his fingers.
Bulk recovered momentarily and was able to get back on his feet, and once he did, he could feel another sneeze coming. Yet in between that free moment of not sneezing, he could see his grandmother's cat in Zhane's arms.
"I can't find any ladders!" An out of breath Skull came running back, but it didn't matter anyway that he came back empty handed. "You got it down," Skull reached for a cage by the side of the tree and opened up the gate, "Quick, put it in here."
"How did you climb up and get down so fast?" Bulk asked, astonished by the quickness of the rescue.
Zhane made a face, "Your cat… Umm… It kind of just jumped into my arms."
Bulk and Skull exchanged glances and shrugged. "Cool, so what's your name?"
With a flash of a smile, he introduced himself, "I'm Zhane."
"Hey, wait a minute, you're one of the new guys that hang out with T.J. and bunch." Bulk suddenly realized and a tinge of dislike seemed to come out with those words. "Well, either way, you saved my grandmother's cat."
Skull nodded in agreement, "And if anyone ever tries to bully you, let us know and we'll make sure they'll never do it again."
"Uh, sure." Zhane nodded awkwardly while the noise in the park abruptly faded into an eerie silence besides the occasional chirps from the birds. He spun himself around to see a player lying on the grass field in pain. In the corner of his eye, he could see his friends running frantically onto the field. "Carlos!" He finally realized what was happening. "Sorry guys, I have to go." He excused himself from Bulk and Skull and dashed off to join his friends.
Medical trainers arrived beside Carlos and lifted him onto a stretcher. "He seems to have hurt his leg and his back. We'll have to take him to the hospital for further examinations."
T.J. and the others watched as the medical staff carried Carlos away and loaded him into an ambulance. "Guys, we should head over to the hospital too so we can stay with him later."
"But Andros," Ashley bit her lip and lowered her head.
"You guys go with Carlos and I'll go find Andros, we'll meet up with you at the hospital." Zhane volunteered to go search, "Andros is my best friend, I'll find him."
To be continued…
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AN: Silly me, I forgot to mention that this story picks up after the episode 'The Secret of the Locket' (But you probably already figured that out). Once again, please review!
