Author: I finally finished chapter seven! Well, I finished typing it, but you get the picture. This part is a little weird so be prepared. It's when they actually find Keii and all, so…heh. heh. heh. And sorry it took me forever to get this typed out. Really I am. This would have been up sooner, but something was wrong with the fanfiction site so it wouldn't let me put it up. Sorry.

Chapter seven

Light filtered into my vision as my eyes flickered open. I felt so disoriented; I couldn't tell up from down and my body seemed to floating in the air. I twisted my head around, looking for something familiar. My gaze finally rested on Zoë who trudged along in front of me, her shoulders slumped and her hands in her pockets reminding me of a guy.

I could finally feel the strong arms carrying me. I turned around to see who it was, gut suddenly I was falling. the ground loomed up closer and it jarred my body when I connected with it. All the air in my lungs swept out through my mouth with a loud whoosh. A sharp pain ripped through my side as someone kicked me with the toe of a boot. Then I was going back up into the air, being pulled up by my arm.

Zoë was suddenly by my side and she pulled me into a protective embrace as she began to speak in a voice thick from crying. "Enough, Rene."

Then we were walking again, down the street. My heart beat wildly inside my chest and my head was thumping inconsistently. The ghost girl held a supportive arm around my waist so I wouldn't collapse to the ground, but it was of no use. My head spun and my knees buckled sending me sprawling to the ground. Lights flashed inside my head as it slammed into a rock. I tried to concentrate but my mind continued to slip away. I could vaguely hear voices above me.

"We'll never get there at this pace!" Rene.

"Fine, the we can leave her." Zoë.

A sharp laugh. "Good try, Zo, but I'm not leaving my bait behind."

Silence.

There was a low inconsistent thumping. I wracked my brain trying to find out what it was and finally realized that it was my heart. My eyes drifted open, but I couldn't see anything. I had been swallowed up in the stifling darkness.

"Zoë?" The word came out more like a croak that anything else. "Zoë?"

Only silence.

I sat up and let my eyes rest on the two glowing red lights. I tipped my head to the side and stared at the tow small dots.

What?

Then they were gone, but only for an instant.

I finally realized what they were. They were eyes. Eyes slowly blinking in the dark.

My eyes flew open, the bright sunlight making me squint. I glanced down at the ground that seemed to be moving. Or was that me moving?

Once again I realized someone was holding me, but his time I didn't move for fear I would be dropped again. I shut my eyes tightly and tried to drown out the overwhelming sense of loneliness. I listened closely as Rene muttered under his breath.

"She thinks that she can outsmart me? Never! I'll show her. I'll tame her. She well be broken even if I have to kill her."

My first thought was that he was speaking of me, but I soon realized that he spoke about Zoë. I peeled my eyes open then gasped as I noticed Rene was gazing directly into my face.

He grinned at me---the first time I had ever really seen him happy---but his smiling countenance was quickly dashed away when Zoë glanced back at us. I was dumped out of his arms and onto my feet. My heart was filled with grief, but my mind could not comprehend the reason for my sorrow.

Then a familiar sight filled my vision. The old school house. I stopped dead in my tracks and stared at the rickety old building. I just stood there until Rene prodded me in the back with his gun, making me let out the breath I hadn't even known I had been holding. We stepped inside and I could feel my bones tingling with the fear that washed over my body.

We walked down the hall in silence, but suddenly the small area was echoing with the shriek of a demon-eyed ghost who jumped at us, a knife visible in her cold, pale hand. I fell to the ground a scream ripping out of my throat. Zoë fell down onto the ground next to me her eyes filled with fear, but Rene stayed standing. The ghost froze and stood in front of the boy. She lifted a hand that kept disappearing then reappearing like a broken projector at him and said in a cold emotionless voice. "All mortals shall die."

Rene smirked. "Well, I feel sorry for those two." He jerked his thumb at me and Zoë. Confusion flashed through the ghost's eyes for a second before she once again obtained her composure. "You're no ghost."

"No." he said. "But I am immortal."

The ghost looked at him intently then pointed her gleaming blade at me and the girl beside me. "And them?"

"They're with me."

"But I can not allow them to pass." Her body glitched.

Rene let his fist fly through the air and it landed in the ghost's face, her gleaming red eyes flashed as she went flying through the air before gliding gently to the floor. She let out an ear-piercing screech and attacked with her knife, swinging it back and forth. The boy just stood there obviously very unafraid.

One second his hand was empty then the next…he held a glowing black blade. Once again the ghost hesitated giving Rene just enough time to pin her to the wall.

"Now." He hissed into her ear. "I suggest you leave."
He waited for the ghost to nod then dropped her onto the ground, sending her scurrying away into the darkness.

My heart was beating wildly, but I soon discovered that it was not with the fear that pumped through my body, but with something else. Hope? Hope that I might have found someone who could defeat a ghost without sustaining any damage himself? No. It was different. Relief? Relief that I had just encountered a ghost, but didn't have to run away? No. I was thankful for that, but that was not the reason for my sudden ecstaticy when I remembered what Rene had done. No. There was something else. Something…wonderful.

The hall was dark and actually seemed to breathe with such an intensity that it made my heart speed up. We entered a small classroom with desks that had bee flipped over to either lay on their sides or upside down.

Zoë stopped in the middle of the room, her eyes scanning it warily. Rene stood behind her, breathing down onto her head. "Where is he?" He asked glancing around the dim room.

The ghost girl placed her hand against her heart and closed her eyes as if the beating organ was speaking to her. Her eyelids finally lifted and I could see the bewilderment flooding around. Rene turned her around, for a moment sorrow flashed through his black eyes. "Zoë." he whispered. "What is it?"

She glanced away. "I can't feel 'im."

The boy slammed his fists against the wall producing a large and jagged hole. I could feel the annoyance seeping out of his body, then he turned to me. "Call him."

I wanted to say no. I wanted to tell him to get lost, but the only word that passed my lips was the name of my brother. "Keiichirou!"

There was no answer. Only the sound of the wind whipping against the building.

"Keiichirou!"

A faint tapping sound reached my ears and I spun around to find my younger brother standing there. His short black hair gleamed in the small amount of sunlight that filtered inside and his eyes were blank. His hands hung loosely by his sides and his skin was so pale that it practically looked white.

"Keiichirou?" I said in a voice that was barely even a whisper. He looked at me with his glassy eyes for a second then turned to stare at Rene who stood there looking entirely confused. Keii finally turned to Zoë who seem to be smiling ever so slightly, then the little boy spoke in a voice that carried no emotion what so ever. "Evil will not prevail."

I blinked. What had he just said? I grabbed his arm and spoke in a fearful tone. "Keiichirou, what's wrong with you?"

He looked at me, his eyes thick with confusion. "Satsuki?"

I nodded. "Yes, it's me. Your sister."

"Sister?"

My heart plummeted within my chest and I could feel tears threatening to spill out onto my cheeks. I turned to Zoë who bore a look of horror on her face.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked.

She shook her head slowly. " 'e can't comprehend evil. Well, at least not entirely."

"What? He doesn't know I'm his sister!"

"Yes. Look into your heart. 'e can see somethin' there that ya might not be able to or either that ya just don't wanna."

"What? I don't understand."

She looked at me steadily. " 'e doesn't remember your love cause you've given it away to someone else."

"What!"

"Look, Satsuki, look into your heart."

I shook my head wearily, but I tried to find the reason that I couldn't love him anymore. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. It was all because of Rene. I turned to face Keiichirou who swayed back and forth like a wounded child then rushed over to him. Wrapping him in my arms. I began to weep unmercilessly.

"Oh, my dear brother! Don't do this! I love you! Please!"

He didn't move, only gave a small shudder before pulling out of my grasp. I finally climbed to my feet and turned to look at Rene hate flashing through my tear spilling eyes.

"This is all your fault!" I screamed.

He seemed completely hurt and I soon regretted the hastily blurted out words. I didn't mean to be so harsh, but that must have been the reason that Keiichirou had forgotten who I was. That's why he hates me. Because I hate Rene. But of course that didn't make any sense. Because how could I hate someone that makes my heart flutter every time I looked in his direction.

I turned back to my brother. "I don't hate him anymore. " I pleaded. "Please love me again, Keiichirou! Please!"

But the boy only took a step closer to Zoë. Then I was suddenly so furious with the ghost girl. She had turned my own brother against me. I walked up to her then hit her like my life depended on it, and in a way it did cause if I couldn't have my brother's love then I would most surely die.

Zoë's body hit the ground, her head hitting a jagged edge of a broken desk. Her eyes flashed in surprise right before the light flickered out and she went completely still.

Rene stepped up to my brother and yanked off the cross necklace that the ghost girl had given him. Keiichirou's eyes widened and he let out a scream that rattled the furniture and shattered the few remaining windows. I stared at him stupidly, as did Rene. Then the younger boy silenced himself and glanced around the room.

His bottom lip trembled. "Where am I?"

I glanced at Rene who now wore a wicked smile on his faced as he stared at the necklace that dangled from his hand. He looked up at me, victory flashing through his dark eyes. The cross slipped out of his grasp and clattered on the floor, where it landed in the layers of dust.

Keiichirou still looked very bewildered as he watched Rene with interest, then he dropped to his knees and snatched up the piece f jewelry. His eyes grew very wide when he saw Zoë's prone body laying on the floor, blood seeping out of a nasty cut on the back of her head. My brother glanced up at me, confusion written all over his pale features.

"Satsuki." He whispered. "What's going on?"

I knelt down beside him and slowly pried the necklace out of his frozen fingers. He grasped for it desperately, but I simply held it out of his reach. I could see a tear slip down his cheek as he gave up his futile attempt to gain the cross and pressed his small body closer to Zoë's.

Anger flashed through my body and mind. How could he still love the ghost girl more than me? His own sister?

He looked at me with pain filled eyes and repeated his earlier question. "What's going on? What happened to Zoë? And why is the bad guy here?"

He really couldn't remember, I realized. He hadn't been in his right mind. I was just about to step over to my brother and wrap him up into my arms, but before I could even move, Rene stepped forward and grabbed viscously at the younger boy's arm.

I gave an involuntary gasp and lunged for my brother's other arm, but he was just simply pulled out of the way and I collapsed onto the floor in a heap, all my air leaving my body. It took me a moment to catch my breath and when I had climbed back to my feet Rene and Keiichirou were gone leaving me alone with the unconscious Zoë.

Author: So? was it good or did I make everyone completely and utterly confused. I'm not sure if I describe the stuff enough or not, but…I'm not perfect. please review!!