Chapter Eleven
"Hunter, I can explain," began Dustin, rapidly trying to think of a way he could. Hunter advanced on him, a lot of undiluted fury on his face.
"Explain? You can explain why you were lying to me?"
Hunter advanced on him. Dustin tried to back away but there was a shelf of skateboards behind him. Tori tried to step between, but Hunter just shoved her away, still staring at Dustin, who was now edging sideways along the wall. Around the shop, customers were looking at them with curiosity. Kelly had come out of the back room and was clearly trying to work out what was happening.
"I trusted you! I risked everything for you!"
"I was just trying to help," said Dustin, realising how lame that sounded. He'd edged as far as he could go and was now pinned in the corner, Hunter looming in front of him.
"You thought you could help by making me believe the impossible?"
"I just wanted you to get better."
"Maybe I was better off as I was." Hunter closed what little distance there was between them and grabbed the top of Dustin's arms, pinning them. Dustin was surprised at the strength, the pressure of Hunter's fingers feeling like they were going to go straight through his flesh. He struggled slightly but there was no way Hunter was about to let go.
"Can we just talk about this?" Dustin asked.
"I'm through with talking to you."
"Hunter, stop!" Blake came running into the shop, Shane a step behind him. Dustin guessed Tori must have called him.
"Hunter, you don't want to do this," Blake said, "Please stop, for me."
"Why should I do anything you ask? Even you've turned against me."
"That's not true. We're just trying to help."
"Well don't!" Then Hunter started saying something else, strange syllables that sounded like gibberish. Blake ran forward to try and get him to stop, seizing Hunter's arm. Hunter, still with one hand holding Dustin, broke the other free of Blake's grip. He hit his brother in the stomach with inhuman strength, the force of it sending Blake into the air and flying several metres across the shop, hitting one of the displays with a crack and then lying far too still on the ground.
Dustin stared, hoping to spot some sign of movement, but Hunter didn't even seem to care how badly his brother might be hurt. He turned back to Dustin and kept speaking the words of the spell.
Dustin's vision was blocked as something like black smoke swirled around them and he was aware that the pressure of the shelves in his back had vanished. When the smoke cleared, it was obvious that he was no longer in Storm Chargers.
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Blake woke up with a throbbing headache and a sharp pain in his right shoulder. He opened his eyes, blinking several times as the room seemed far too bright. His head was fuzzy and his thoughts unfocussed.
"Hi, how are you feeling?" Tori's face swam into focus somewhere above him. A faint groan was all the articulation Blake could manage.
"You hit your head pretty hard," said Cam also appearing in Blake's line of vision, "and nearly dislocated your shoulder."
A battle? He tried to organise his jumbled memories to work out what had happened. Things slowly shifted into place in his mind and he remember Storm Chargers, Hunter threatening Dustin and then... When did his brother get that strong?
"Hunter?" he managed to ask.
"We've no idea," said Tori, "We checked the Thunder Academy and your apartment and all the places Hunter usually hangs out. Cam's been running constant searches and upgrading half the software to try and find something. So far, we've found nothing though."
Blake tried to sit up. He then used his left hand to push himself into a sitting position and succeeded. He'd have to be very careful in any upcoming battles because his right shoulder was protesting at any attempts to move it.
"How long have I been out?" he asked.
"A couple of hours."
That didn't sound very long, but it was long enough for Hunter to have killed Dustin or done something else almost as bad. Blake sat in the middle of Ninjops and tried to get his brain into something resembling working order.
"What do we do now?" Blake asked.
There was a bleeping and an image of something green and slimy appeared on the computer screen.
"Now," said Shane, "we deal with that thing." He was already on his feet, as were Tori and Cam. Blake began to stand, but Shane said, "You stay here and rest up. We'll call if we need help."
Blake would have argued, but his head was still thumping and the pain in his shoulder hadn't gotten any less.
"Ninja Storm, Ranger Form!"
"Samurai Storm, Ranger Form"
Tori, Shane and Cam morphed out of Ninjops, leaving Blake sitting uselessly able to do nothing but watch. Cyber Cam emerged from somewhere else in the base and began working on the computer, presumably trying to find Hunter and Dustin. Blake tried hard not to think about what his brother might be doing.
It should have been easy, given how reluctant his brain was to do thinking of any sort right now. But still he kept imagining all the horrible tortures Hunter might have in store for Dustin.
Sensei must have worked out what he was thinking: "If there is a way to save your brother, we will find it."
Blake couldn't help but think it would rely on Hunter wanting to be saved.