Chapter III:
Slip

Thunder rumbled in the distance.

Kairi felt Sora stir beside her. She looked up, feeling a knot of anxiety form in her stomach. He was staring out towards the horizon. He squinted and suddenly tensed. Kairi followed his gaze. Lightning flashed a few miles out, but otherwise there was nothing. No movement. Nothing that might raise alarm.

"What is it?" She whispered, not out of comfort this time, but as if the atmosphere suddenly demanded it. As if anything louder would…she didn't want to explore that particular would.

Sora pointed, directing her vision straight out to sea.

A slight smudge had appeared on the edge of the horizon. Night had well and truly fallen by this point and Kairi doubted she would have been able to pick it out of the overcast sky if Sora hadn't pointed it out.

The wind began to pick up, sending tiny ripples across the water. A crack of lightning shattered the heavens, closer than the last, and thunder boomed like a gong calling them to war. Kairi brushed hair out of her face, unconsciously touching her ear. A subtle humming had crept into the air, growing louder by the second. The tide was rolling in and it was bringing something with it.

Sora rose slowly to his feet. Tension pervaded his every movement. His feet spread wide, one slightly in front of the other. Kairi had seen that stance before. All those times Sora and Riku had fought back on their island with wooden swords and every battle with the heartless since. He turned his gaze to her, his eyes intense.

"Run. Sound the alarm and get Riku," He pulled her up, "Then get the two of you out of here."

Kairi blanched, "What? No! If there's trouble I'm staying with you."

Sora shook his head, "Kairi I need you to rouse the others while I hold them off."

"Hold who off? All I saw was a smudge. That could be anything."

Sora abruptly stepped towards her. He was getting angry.

"You know who. That smudge is an army of heartless. A big one."

"But…"

"Kairi. Please. Go."

She glanced over his shoulder. The smudge. The heartless were closer. Maybe only a mile from shore.

"Okay. I'll go, but once I get Riku I'm coming back."

"Kairi."

She stepped towards the trees, "Don't argue," She exclaimed, "I'm not leav-"

Suddenly there they were. Leaving a sweeping, roaring wake behind them, the heartless flew across the water barely a hundred meters out. Shadow upon shadow, three thousand strong. Swarming over each other like some twisted avalanche. More were coming. Farther out she could see the heavies, the fighting force of the army: neoshadows, surveillance robots, darkballs, invisibles, and-

"Oh my god," She breathed.

Several darksides rose from the depths. Torrents of water streamed down their deathly, brutish bodies. Massive waves were thrown from where they emerged, crashing towards the shore. Their enormous yellow eyes glowed like moons and they stretched towards the island like the hands of a god, demanding submission and annihilation.

"Go!"

Sora's shout broke her reverie and suddenly she was running. Running for the trees, slipping in the supple, shifting sand, nearly falling. Sand flew into her face. Get up get up get up. Don't fall. Go go go. She shot a glance behind her.

Sora had drawn his keyblade. He charged towards the ocean, a very Roxas-like snarl on his face, just as the first shadow made land. The keyblade slashed and darkness mixed with water, then misted into nonexistence.

Then she was in the trees. Sora was lost from sight. The hard ground pounded beneath her feet and she turned up the speed, pushing herself to go faster. Her heart to pump harder. Her lungs to breath deeper. She had to get to the others. If only to get back to Sora. She knew he could handle himself. He saved the worlds for God's sake, but even he could only take so much. And all those heartless…

She ran faster.

Kairi could feel the adrenaline rushing through her veins. Trees whipped by at what seemed impossible speeds. The sides of her vision grew dark and blurry, leaving only a tunnel of clear focus. Palm leaves slapped her face. Twisting roots snaked from the ground, trying their best to trip her up. The air was hot and muggy, strikingly different from the cold of the beach. Sweat slicked her arms, beaded her forehead. It felt as though she had run miles already. How much farther was the camp?

There!

She skidded to a halt atop the ridge overlooking their camp. A small clearing, nearly invisible until you stumbled into it, or had a higher vantage point, lay at the bottom of the slope. Dozens of tents were spread throughout the campsite, the largest of which was the medical tent, located near the center of the camp alongside a few dying campfires. That's where she would find Riku, along with a few other Islanders injured in the previous heartless attacks. Unfortunately, there weren't many. Most hadn't been so lucky.

Before Riku, she had to rouse the camp. A pair of night watchmen patrolled the far side of the camp. Too far away. She scanned the trees closest to her. Then she spotted it.

A makeshift watch post had been built about three-quarters of the way up a large, old-growth tree. It was little more than a platform resting on two of the stouter branches, but the view was completely unbroken. Perfect for spotting trouble before it even got near. A lone sentry stood facing the jungle, peering into the gloom.

"Thank the keyblade," She breathed.

If she could just get to him, the treetop post housed flares they used to signal the other sentries, who would warn the rest of the camp.

Kairi heaved a couple breathes, then started down the slope.

She cut diagonally through the foliage, trying her best to travel in a straight line. But the jungle was thick and convoluted. The canopy blocked out the sky overhead. Within seconds, the lookout, and even the tree holding it, disappeared from sight. Kairi hoped she was going the right direction.

Where's Sora when you need him? Or Riku? The boys had always had a better sense of direction than she did. Sometimes Sora couldn't logic his way out a paper bag, but give him a world he'd never been to before and he'd have the terrain mapped out within an hour.

Suck it up Kairi. They're not here right now and they're counting on you. Where the hell is that lookout?

The dense jungle seemed intent on keeping her confined. Instead of thinning out as she hoped, it only thickened. Gnarled branches contorted into a mass of scrapping webs. Grasping vines tangled in her hair, wrapping round her arms. Slick moss underfoot constantly threatened her to slip. She was forced to an agonizingly slow pace, hating every nanosecond. The light had all but disappeared. Kairi waved a hand in front of her face. Nothing but a dim outline. Wet leaves she had admired only this morning, entrancing as the sunlight shimmered off their dew, now coalesced in the shadows. They played with her eyes. Dappled grey patterns shifted in the muggy air, turning her imagination against her. Thoughts played in her mind. Thoughts of darkness and what lay within. Skittering horrors slipping behind her. Terror licking up her spine. Hot, damp breathe on her neck. All of it gone the moment she turned her head. Suddenly every swaying branch became a heartless claw. A passing firefly morphed into a lustful eye; a rustle in the brush behind her could only be some new breed of death yet unseen. Her eyes flicked side to side. Her mouth was dry, tasting like sand. Her chest seemed too tight for her lungs. Her breath hitched, painfully stalling in her throat before speeding to a breakneck pace.

Inches from panic she growled.

"NO."

She summoned her keyblade, clenching the hilt and enunciating every word in her mind.

I. Will. Not. Panic.

Her breath slowed. The tightness around her chest dissipated. The keyblade flashed, vanishing in a spray of light. Kairi took one last look around the jungle and continued onward.

"For God's sake," She muttered. She growled again, lashing out at a passing branch in frustration.

All at once the world seemed to shatter.

The branch snapped back with surprising force, hitting Kairi full in the face. Kairi felt the breath knocked out of her lungs as she slammed to the ground. Simultaneously, something swished past her head, grazing her ear. Blood rushed from her nose, spattering the soil. It felt twisted.

Broken, she thought.

She rolled over, gulping for air. Failing miserably. She pushed off the ground and was immediately tackled back down. Claws pierced her shoulder. Kairi screamed and lashed out blindly, foot connecting with her attacker. Stumbling to her feet, she roughly flung the hair from her eyes. A shadow heartless lept towards her, claws gritty with blood and dirt. She brought up her hands just in time, catching the heartless on her forearms. Flesh ripped from her arms as she swung, flinging the shadow; cringing as its spine snapped against a tree trunk.

Two more heartless materialized from the brush, sinking into the ground, crawling on all fours. Fast. Faster than anything nature could have intended.

Kairi ran. Pushing through the undergrowth. Any moment expecting a slicing pain in her ankle. Her lungs heaved. Time sped by too fast. The trees closed in. She couldn't see. Green. Black. Wind. Feet can't keep up. Too fast TOO FAST.

Her foot caught. Twisting under a root, ankle cracking from the pressure. Falling forward. Falling down. In that split second before the crash, before the fall, before the punch, when time seems to freeze, one thought ran through her mind.

This is going to hurt.

Impact. Her face smashed to the ground for what felt like the millionth time tonight. More blood cascading from her nose. The world kaleidoscoped. Up was down. Down was up. Direction, space, and time disappeared. She didn't know where she was or where she was going. All she knew is she wanted to stop.

Oh god stop please stop stop stop st-UGH!

Kairi crashed into a tree, bouncing off and tumbling several meters farther downhill. Ankle coming down on a rock. Hard.

"SHIT!" She screamed, throat torn raw. Her already swollen ankle pulsated, sending another wave of agony through her. Kairi whimpered, curling into a ball.

Two pairs of eyes gleamed in the darkness. The two heartless stepped towards her. They crouched instinctively, moving slowly, sensing the kill was near.

Kairi turned away, looking up towards the stars. She felt no fear, only a deep sadness. Their world would fall, because of her. She had failed.

Sora. Riku. I'm sorry.

A single tear rolled down her dirty cheek. Her vision darkened, though whether her eyes were closing or her vision failing she didn't know. Dimly, as though from a great distance, a shot rang out, followed by a second. A pair of boots stepped into the sky, sliding towards her and blocking her view of the stars. She felt slightly cheated. She wished whoever owned them would at least give her a clear view. One last time.

With that thought, Kairi blacked out.

Author's Note:

Gah. I don't know why it took me so long to write this chapter. The first few days after I posted chapter two I didn't have time to write. I was hanging out with my parents for Father's Day and then I had a couple rough days with work. I love my job, don't get me wrong (I work for a university Residence Life Department as a Resident Advisor, google it if you're curious), but I was having a bad day already and I had to deal with a student who was being a grade-A a$$hole. Anyways, while those days I couldn't do anything about, I do apologize for all the time afterwards. That's my bad. Also, as I said this chapter was weird. Some parts I felt like I was bashing my head against a wall trying to write. It would take me three hours to write a five sentence paragraph. Others parts it all just flowed together and I would write a quarter of the chapter (it's not exactly a huge chapter I know, but still). However, I do hope you enjoy it. As always drop me a review. Give me tips. Give me critiques. Give me digital slaps to the back of my head about how I need to write quicker if you must. Compliments are nice too. But without further adieu, I swear I will not rest until this story is complete. You have my word. Night guys!

XIII