Megan came into the room with a melancholy appearance and sat down in her usual chair. Kelly surmised that Megan had been crying.
"What's wrong Megs?" Kelly used a more chipper than normal inflection in her voice.
"My dad got hurt last night. Mom and I had to take him to the hospital to get stitches. I thought they just wanted me. Now they are to be hurting my family too."
The little girl's sentiments distressed Kelly. Was Megan so impacted by the abuse that her mind refused to acknowledge it? She decided to press Megan for more information.
"What happened to him, is he OK?" The thought of actually having to care for such a despicable person nauseated Kelly, but she had to keep up her rouse.
"Yeah he is doing OK. Got a cut on his face. He is at home resting today though."
"Kelly, Megan, do you two have something you would like to share with the class?" Mrs. Oldsen's voice bore the burden of too much smoking, although the teacher was nice enough.
"No Mrs. Oldsen." The two chanted as if using some form of mantra.
"Then whatever you are discussing will have to wait until recess. Now let's turn to page two sixty-four in the…" Mrs. Oldsen's voice faded in Kelly's mind as she recalled the previous night's events.
How invigorating it had been standing up for her friend, to teach a coward like Mr. Aylesworth a lesson. Then Kelly thought of house one-seventeen. The unconscionable man who just stood there looking, who knew full well what was transpiring in the house next to his.
Kelly felt anger rising on the inside of her, but now was not the time. Still, she liked the sensation. The sensation was power. Kelly knew it was there and that if she chose to fight that nothing around her could do anything about it.
A lustful smile began to stretch its way across Kelly's face when suddenly her vision began to alter. The room's painted scheme of white and burgundy were quickly being replaced with a sort of deep hazy blue and quickly getting darker.
The people surrounding her in the room, however, began to turn into a rainbow of luminescent colors. Kelly could also see heat trails emanating from under Mrs. Oldsen's desk. The woman was always habitually cold.
The wonder of this new vision faded as Kelly's anger subsided.
What just happened here? Did I almost pass out? No, why would I do that?
Kelly marveled in her thoughts as she pondered what had just happened. She was startled out of them, however, as the bell outside her class rang and the students filed out for recess.
---------------
Nyo'Tak refused to give notice to Ako'Ten's presence, which annoyed the younger Yautja greatly.
"You are going to need my help if you are going to successfully hunt this girl." Nyo'Tak recoiled slightly at Ako'Ten's words
"You would humiliate me more by accompanying me to kill such an undeveloped prey? I did not wish your company on this trip, much less the hunt itself. You will stay with the ship until I call for you."
The forward screen filled with orange as the craft entered atmosphere. Nyo'Tak spun in his chair and promptly came to his feet, brushing past Ako'Ten and headed for the prep room.
In front if him lay many various weapons and devices of Yautja design. Ako'Ten finished attaching the plasmacaster to Nyo'Tak's shoulder and the device powered to life. The Yautja warrior slid on his helmet and powered it on as well.
With a quick flip from his mandible, a trio of red beams projected out and painted three dots on the polished wall facing Nyo'Tak.
This is how she will die.
She is my responsibility
I do not wish for my creation to suffer.
Her death will be swift and with all hopes she will never become aware of the fate befalling her.
Nyo'Tak also grabbed a netgun and disk. He felt the sudden vibration of the craft's landing gears being lowered as he attached the weapons to his waist. All Nyo'Tak felt was the weight of what he was about to do. To destroy the life he had created. Such a waste.
"We have sat down three and a half units from the area. Our approach was masked and I do not believe we were detected. The light shall fade before you reach her location, which should aid you in getting this done quickly. Contact me when you are done and we will prepare an extraction."
Ako'Ten tapped on a control pad and the craft's large rear door began to lower. A vast expanse of forest was laid out before the warrior. Nyo'Tak noted several gently rolling hills in his immediate sight. The terrain posed no problem for the warrior, but it would take time.
With a heavy sigh Nyo'Tak exited the ship and began running, although not eager to get down to the task at hand.
---------------
Kelly and Megan sat next to each other on the swing set. Megan's swing shifted slightly as she manipulated the sand below with the toe of her shoe. Kelly didn't like Megan's mood. It just wasn't the same happy girl. "Megan, you know your dad is going to be OK, so how about cheering up?"
"I can't. He is fine this time, but what about when they come back? I was fine with the fact that they hurt me, but I don't want them hurting my family."
Kelly didn't know what to say. She had done the right thing. The only thing there was to do. Kelly originally assumed Megan was just covering for her dad's sins, but that assumption had been wrong.
The swing teetered as Kelly pushed off with one foot, still sending herself higher than most could do pushing with two legs. The centrifugal forces pleased Kelly, allowing her a moment's reprieve from life's seriousness.
Getting more into the motion, Kelly threw her head back to look upside down, her hair brushing the ground as she passed the ground.
Megan, however, continued to wallow in her troubles, and didn't notice Kelly stopping suddenly.
"This should get you moving." Megan felt a tug on the swing as she slowly moved backwards and up. Kelly brought the swing up to as high an arc as she could reach, and withheld her true power as she gently pushed the swing forward.
Megan let out a giggle at the sensation and Kelly broke into a smile, satisfied that she had once again came to Megan's rescue, albeit a minor one.
---------------
The darkness added a stealthy boost to Nyo'Tak's cloaking system, making him invisible to even the trained soldiers he passed by. The base already seemed to be a perfect place for a hunt; a place that would require stealth and discretion in order to be successful.
Had it been under different circumstances Nyo'Tak would have been elated, but this hunt would be overshadowed and eventually forgotten.
Nyo'Tak finally broke the stride he had sustained during the trek in, and approached Kelly's house cautiously. Multiple lights inside the house contrasted with shadows outside, although neither gave indication to the warrior's presence.
Upon approaching the side of the house where the dining area was located, Nyo'Tak heard talk and laughter emanate. As he peered into the window, the Yautja spotted his prey.
Kelly was even more impressive in person. She appeared slightly greater in height than he had calculated for her age, and her physique and discredited each other.
Still, she was but a child. Nyo'Tak clicked his mandibles in frustration of his task and began to finalize his plan.
Nyo'Tak had plenty of footage from Kelly's various talks with Megan. He had synthesized the young girl's voice and fed it to the multiple cameras about Kelly's house. They would lure his experiment outside where he would rest in a tree near the center of the front lawn.
As soon as the girl was within plasmacaster range, he would execute her quickly and be gone with her body.
Finished running through his thoughts, Nyo'Tak scaled the tree and perched himself on one of the stronger limbs.
Various lights turned on and off in the house as the family got ready for bed. Nyo'Tak paid little attention to anything but the window he knew lead into Kelly's room.
At one point Kelly's adoptive father brought bags outside and put them in large containers, allowing their lids to slam down as he walked away.
Slowly the lights turned off and after a while of no activity finally it was time. Nyo'Tak opened up his datapad and punched random keys. The screen flickered to life and an image of Kelly displayed on the screen.
"Kelly, where are you?" The voice startled Kelly as her eyes snapped open.
"Megan, is that you?" Kelly began looking around her moonlit room for her friend.
"Kelly, I need your help." The sound came from outside her room, down the hallway. Kelly slipped on her slippers and peeked out into the hallway.
"Hurry, I'm down here." Kelly reached the staircase leading down to the foyer and started to descend. She couldn't localize where the voice was coming from. It sounded as though it came from everywhere and nowhere.
"Come on, outside. I need you!" Kelly opened the front door and a cool wind caressed her face.
"Megan?" Kelly called in a loud whisper.
"Over here, by the tree." Kelly couldn't see her friend, and was very uneasy at the situation. She began to slowly make her way across the yard as she continued to look around for her friend, a couple of times spinning around to make sure the young girl wasn't going to prank her from behind.
As Kelly came out of yet another spin her eyes captured the sight of three red lines cutting through the night. As she looked down, Kelly noticed a triangular pattern directly over her heart.
"Seeya Kelly."
Hope you liked this chapter. Got a little stuck for a bit, but the next one should come pretty easily, since we all like reading (and writing) fight scenes.. ;0) Anywho, Reviews welcomed/appreciated!!!