Chapter 10
It's dark out now and we find Mindy walking down a rocky hill. She slips, but steadies herself and sighs frustratedly. She looks out in front of her to see a pond. Cool wind gently plays with her bangs as she stares at the water's surface; reflecting the bright full moon. She begins to walk, but suddenly slips and tumbles the rest of the way down the hill. Splash
She finds herself in the pond. She quickly swims out and walks onto the sidewalk. Little does she know that in the distance a pair of silver eyes watch her closely. A howling wind whips past her and she shivers from the bitter cold. She begins to rub her arms to try to keep herself warm, but it's no use.
"Miss?" A child like voice calls and she looks behind her to she a short brown haired girl. "Excuse me, miss. Are you ok?" She asks and Mindy nods slowly. "You shouldn't be out here, miss. This evening is a chilly one. I have towels back home. It's not too far." She says with concerned blue eyes.
"O- ok." She replies shakily and follows the small girl down the road. They arrive at a three story apartment and the girl leads Mindy into the building. The girl hurries into a bathroom down the hall and then comes back with a towel. Mindy wraps it around herself tight and sighs a sigh of relief.
"I'm Hinata Long, but you may call me Hina for short." She says joyfully and sits on a small blue sofa. "Please, sit." She says and Mindy sits down next to her. "What's your name, miss?" She asks.
"Matilda, but please call me Mindy." She replies quietly.
"Mindy isn't short for Matilda, is it?" She asks and leans forward slightly.
"No… but I- I don't like Tilly… it sounds like silly." Mindy replies and Hina smiles a smile of slight amusement.
"Okie-dokie! Nice to meet you, Mindy-san." The girl says brightly and Mindy raises an eyebrow slightly.
"San?" She asks with a puzzled expression.
"Oh, I'm from Japan. In Japan we call new acquaintances san. It's formal. You can say that it's like calling you miss Mindy." Hinata explains and Mindy nods slowly. "Do you want anything to eat? I have cookies that I just made today." She asks and Mindy nods. Hinata gets up and heads for the kitchen. Mindy looks around curiously at the pictures on the wall. There is one picture in particular that gets her attention. One of a black haired American man and a Japanese woman holding hands and smiling brightly. Suddenly, Mindy senses a presence near her and cowers away quickly from a surprised Hinata.
"…I'm sorry. Did I scare you, Mindy-san?" She asks with a spark of pity in her blue eyes.
"A little…" She barely squeaks out and the girl hands her a plate of peanut-butter cookies. Mindy picks up a cookie and sniffs it cautiously before taking a bite.
"You're not from around here, are you?" Hinata says with apprehension in her voice and Mindy looks at her.
"Not really." She replies; not understanding what she truly meant. She swallows the cookie and then quickly goes for another one.
"Where do you live, then?" Hina asks and leans forward a little.
"No where." She replies quickly and stuffs her face.
"Oh… What happened?" She probes with pity in her child-like voice. Mindy frowns slightly and hunches her shoulders anxiously as memories come back to her. Hina leans back in her seat and then looks down. "It's fine. You don't have to tell me." She says with a small smile. Mindy untenses a bit and stares depressedly at her plate. "Why don't I give you some fresh clothes as I dry yours?" Hina says; breaking the silence.
"Ok." She replies quietly and senses Hinata leave the sofa. She then hears her move up the stairs calmly. She hears the sound of her rustling around above her and then hears her make her way down the stairs.
"Here you are, Mindy-san!" She beams and hands her the clothes. She points with her hand to a door under the stairs. "The bathroom's right there." She says brightly and Mindy heads into the bathroom. She shuts the door gently and sits the towel down in the sink. She awkwardly strips her shirt off, almost tripping over the toilet in the process. She sits the green shirt on the sink and then begins taking off her jeans. She gets one leg out and then kicks her other leg to try to get the pants off. She stumbles and then knocks the hand soap into the toilet.
"Is everything alright in there, Mindy-san?" She hears Hinata call and she takes the soap out of the toilet.
"Yes!" She calls back and sits the soap back on the sink nervously. She puts on her clothes, but the shirt does not cover her unusual long waist. She exits the bathroom shyly. Her face slightly tints orange as she tugs down on the shirt modestly.
"Well, they were big on me." Hinata mumbles and then smiles. "I'll go put your clothes in the dryer." She beams and then heads into the bathroom to get Mindy's clothes. She exits and then goes toward the kitchen. Mindy follows her shyly like a curious animal. The small girl pulls a door open and then opens the dryer. She puts the clothes in and then sighs a quiet sigh. She shuts the door and then turns on the machine. "I have a spare bedroom. Why don't I allow you to stay for a few nights?" She asks, turning to Mindy.
"Ok, I… guess." She replies slowly and Hina smiles brightly.
"Okie-dokie then!" She beams and then pulls the door shut.
"Do you live here by yourself?" Mindy asks curiously and holds herself.
"Hmmm, not really. The man that owns the place allows me to stay here without charge. He lives on the top floor. He says he gets enough money from the other apartments he's renting, but I'll pay him when I have the money." She explains and Mindy nods slowly as a reply.
"How old are you?" She asks and Hinata loses her smile slightly.
"I know I look younger, but I'm fourteen. It's how my people are." She explains and then pauses as if she just saw a ghost. Mindy looks behind her apprehensively and then back at the girl with a puzzled expression. She bites her lip and then smiles. "Why don't I make us some dinner?" She says, changing the subject. She heads over to the shove and then looks back at Mindy. "How does macaroni and cheese sound?" She asks and turns it on.
"Um, sure." She replies with a ditzy expression.
Mindy runs as fast as she can down a dark twisting hallway. She fearfully looks behind her to see nothing, but she still keeps running.
"This way, Mindy-san!" She hears Hinata call and turns down a different hallway where Her voice came from. Suddenly, she hears a door slam shut. She quickly turns to see a shut door. She attempts to open it, but her strength fails her.
"No! You tricked me!" She screams and hears the haunting sound of heavy footsteps behind the door. "No!" She screams and runs toward a large flight of stairs. She trips and then tumbles roughly the rest of the way down. She gets up and crawls around; unable to see everything because of her hair. She feels her way around nervously. Her hand lands on something and she looks to find Slade's steel-toe boot. She screams an inhuman scream and then cowers in a corner like a frightened animal. She gets her hair out of her face, but sees darkness.
"Come out, come out wherever you are." She hears Slade chirp sinisterly and then hears a familiar dripping sound. She eyes water fearfully as she runs away from the corner. She runs into a harsh wall and the sour smell of her orange crimson fills her nose. She grabs her head anxiously and quickly rocks from side to side.
"No, no, no, no…" She whispers quickly.
"There you are, Matilda." She hears Slade whisper mockingly. She suddenly sees a red flash on her arm and a cruel pain covers her whole body mercilessly. She lets out a yelp and falls to the abrasive floor. "What's the matter, my dear? Can't you defend yourself?" Slade mocks as she curls herself in a tight ball. She sobs and shakes her head quickly. "You worthless little soldier." He growls and she is kicked across the room; being sliced by the rough floor in the process. "I'm done with you, Matilda. Time to say goodbye." He says and Mindy flees deep into the cruel darkness.
"No!" She screams, with the floor cutting her feet as she runs. "Alex! Alex!" She calls desperately and spots a gray haired boy in a light. Her eyes flood with tears as she runs to him. "Alex, please! You have to save me from him!" She cries.
'I'm sorry, sister. You must accept your fate. If master wills it, then it must be right.' He replies in American sign language with a melancholy expression.
"No! Please, Alex! He's evil!" She pleads and his expression turns from sad to angry.
'Don't bad mouth him.' He replies and she runs from him into the cruel black.
"Someone help!" She screams desperately and spots the Titans. She quickly runs to them. "Please help me!" She cries and then sees Beast boy laying on the ground dead. "What happened?" She screams.
"You killed him." Raven growls and Mindy shakes her head.
"You're just like Slade!" Robin yells and she steps back.
"No! Y-you're all wrong!" She screams and looks at her blood stained hands. "No! No!" She screams and Cyborg grabs her arm.
"Let's take this soldier back to her master." He says and the Titans drag her into the black. She fights, but she might as well have the strength of an infant. She looks ahead of her to see Slade with all of her sibling butchered behind him.
She wakes with a start and a lonely tear runs down her already tear stained face. Her eyes move around the guest room wildly. She is too afraid to move at the moment. She slowly curls herself into a tight balls and hugs her pillow close to her chest as she begins to cry. She suddenly jumps at the light sound of foot steps on the first floor. She sits up and walks toward her door anxiously. She cracks it open and then slips out. She takes a look down the stairs cautiously and spots one of Slade's robots in a mirror that's hanging on the wall. She quickly runs into Hinata's room, but what her eyes see did not look like Hinata.
"Hinata?" She whispers loudly. A blue haired girl sits up in bed and twitches her blue k-9 ears.
"Nani? [What?]" She mumbles and then her silver eyes shoot open. "Oyaoya… [Oh, my…]" She whispers quickly and then puts her hands up. "Mindy-san! It's me, Hinata. Please, don't be afraid! I'm not a monster! I'm a wolf! Which… is a person, but- ah! It's hard to explain!" She stutters and then she gasps as a Slade-bot comes into the room. It points it's weapon at Mindy and she glances at the robot, then back at Hinata to find that she's not even there!
Tell me that this is another dream! She thinks to herself and suddenly a blue wolf pounces on the robot.
"Why are you here?" The wolf growls with a child-like voice. The robot swiftly kicks her off and Mindy quickly decapitates it. "Woof…" The Wolf sighs and turns into the blue haired girl.
"There are more down stairs! I can hear them!" Mindy whispers loudly and Hinata's eyes glow white.
"Follow me!" She orders and makes her way down the stairs with Mindy close behind. Mindy slightly stumbles but steadies herself. Hina turns to see more Slade-bots coming at them and stands by a window. Her hands glow white and suddenly beams shout out of them at the attackers. "Mindy-san! Run!" She orders and Mindy runs out of the building. Hinata as a blue wolf follows close behind as more bots gain on them. Her glowing eyes turn to them and she manipulates the moon light around them and crushes them with it. She then quickens her pace and catches up with Mindy. "You're pretty fast to be keeping up with a Wolf." She says and leads the way down an alley. She quickly shifts into her humanoid form and grabs Mindy's hand. She presses up against a wall and they suddenly blend in with the brick wall.
"What happen-"
"Sh." Hina hushes her as Slade-bots run past them.
Hinata looks around anxiously and then the two girls are visible.
"Ok, I'm what people call a Yaju, or Beast. My race of Yaju is called Urufu or Wolf. Yaju can manipulate light to make themselves appear normal or to bend in to surroundings. I, however am different. I can manipulate light in anyway as long as the moon is out." She explains and Mindy nods slowly.