Chapter 11: Kale Zachary Akins
After dinner, Adam and Shi took the children into the living room to watch some t.v, while Jake helped Abi clean up. Madende was sitting on the couch, Jeric sitting beside him, their fingers intertwined, watching t.v with the kids. There was a sudden sound at the door, that sounded like someone falling against it, that made Madende sit up straight and look back at the door. Releasing Jeric's hand, he got to his feet and looked out the window, not seeing anything.
"You smell that?" Shi asked, standing, Jaiden in her arms.
"Blood." Adam said, looking towards Madende.
"Jeric, get the others in here, so we're all together." Madende said, walking away from the window.
Nodding, Jeric shimmered into the kitchen. Soon everyone rushed into the living room, where Madende stood at the door. Madende looked back at them as they stopped and watched him. He opened the door quickly, but instead of finding what he thought was on the other side, and blond, fire demon fell forward, beaten up, bloodied and unconscious.
"Shit!" Madende yelled, grabbing the demon before he hit the floor.
Jeric and Jake ran forward and helped with the demon, while Shi ran into the kitchen with Abi, to get things to clean him up. Madende, Jeric and Jake moved the demon to the couch, Madende kicking the door shut behind them, as Abi and Shi came back with a bowl of warm water and towels.
"He's…coming…" the demon muttered weakly.
"Don't speak. Save your energy. You're safe now, no one is going to harm you." Madende said, kneeling down beside the couch.
"He's…coming for…me…" the demon muttered.
Shi and Abi watched the demon sadly, as Madende tried to calm him. He was fairly tall and looked to be about Shi's age, with blonde hair and natural red highlights. His eyes were a purple color, and the right side of his lip was pierced, and he had an industrial earring in his left ear.
"Calm down, and relax. You're safe. No one will harm you, while you are with me. Go to sleep now, and gain your energy." Madende said, taking a towel and wiping away some of the blood on the demons face.
The boy relaxed and closed his eyes, falling asleep almost instantly. Madende and Shi cleaned him up, while Abi and Adam took the children upstairs, away from the bloodied and beaten demon.
XxXxXxXxXxX
Three days later, the blonde haired demon opened his eyes and found himself looking up at a blue eyed girl. Startled at seeing someone standing over him, the boy jumped back, as did Shi, who had been checking his wraps.
"Sheesh! Give me a heart attack why don't ya!" she cried, putting a hand on her chest.
"You didn't do me any wonders either." the boy said, his voice shaky.
He had a deep voice, that made Shi stare at him for a second, before shaking her head. Slowly, she walked back over to the bed and sat on the side of it, the boy nervously sliding back a little.
"I won't hurt you, I promise. If I had wanted to, you wouldn't be breathing now." Shi informed him, while pouring a little water into a glass.
The fire demon looked at her oddly for a minute, then looked at the water as she handed to him. Gently taking the glass, Shi watched him as he drank, then smiled.
"What's your name?" she asked softly.
"Kale." he replied, handing the glass back to Shi.
"Nice name. I'm Shi." Shi replied, refilling the glass.
"What happened to me?" Kale asked, looking at her.
"I don't honestly know. But you got here three days ago, and haven't woken until just now. When you came in, you said someone was coming for you. Do you remember who?" Shi asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No…not off hand." Kale said, shaking his head.
"That's ok, just rest up. You're welcome to stay as long as you want." Shi said, standing.
"Thank you." Kale muttered, watching her.
"You're welcome. Do you need anything?" Shi asked, stopping at the door, and looking back at him.
"Um…can I get something to eat?" Kale asked.
"Sure. Stay in bed, I'll send Abi up with something to eat." Shi said, smiling and leaving.
Kale smiled back and lay back down with a sigh. Shi slowly made her way down the stairs, Madende meeting her at the foot of them.
"How's he doing?" he asked, looking up at her.
"Jumpy, but seems ok. His name is Kale, and he can't remember who was after him." Shi replied, stopping and looking at her brother.
"Ok. Maybe it will come back to him as he rests up." Madende muttered, turning to walk away.
"Hopefully." Shi mused, stepping off the last step.
Madende headed back to the couch to sit next to Jeric, while Shi headed into the kitchen to help Abi with dinner. She was standing at the stove when she walked in, and looked up at Shi, smiling.
"How's he doin?" she asked.
"Weak. Hungry. And very jumpy." Shi replied, leaning against the counter.
"Poor thing. He gotta name?" Abi asked.
"Yea. Kale is all I got from him so far." Shi replied.
"Ah, ok." Abi muttered, flipping a steak over. "So is he wanting something to eat?" she asked, looking back at Shi.
"Yea. I told him I'd send you up." she replied.
"Ok. Well, this one is almost ready, but there's some over there that are. Would you watch this while I take him something to eat?" Abi asked, looking at Shi.
"Sure." she replied, nodding and stepping forward.
Abi quickly put a small amount of food onto a plate and left for the upstairs, while Shi managed the steaks still cooking. Abi reached the third floor, where Kale was staying, and knocked lightly on the door. After a few minutes and no answer, Abi opened the door and quietly went in. He wasn't in the bed, and the bathroom door was closed. Sighing, Abi walked over to the bedside table and turned on the lamp, just as Kale walked out of the bathroom.
"Who are you?" he asked quickly, making Abi jump.
"Damn it don't do that to me!" she cried, looking back at him.
"Sorry. You are Abi, right?" Kale replied, walking towards her.
"Yes." Abi said, nodding. "Come and eat before it gets cold." she added, nodding towards the tray of food.
Kale nodded and made his way over to the bed and sat down, while Abi set the tray over his lap. He looked down at the food and smiled, then sniffed the air over it.
"It smells really great!" he said, looking up at Abi.
"Thanks. Hopefully it tastes as good as it smells." Abi said, smiling at him.
"I'm sure it will." Kale said, returning the smile.
"Either Shi or I will be back after a few to check on you. Take your time in eating, so you don't choke. And maybe if you feel up to it, after you eat, you can come down and meet the others. They're all worried about you." Abi said, watching him.
"That sounds nice. Wait…All? How many people live here?" Kale asked, looking at her nervously.
"Seven." Abi replied.
"Seven?!" Kale cried, his eyes widening.
"Yes, but there's nothing to worry about. Now eat up, and we'll see you in a few." Abi said, turning to leave.
"Ok…" Kale said absent mindedly, watching her leave.
XxXxXxXxXxX
After dinner, Shi and Madende made their way upstairs to check on Kale. He was roaming around the room, looking at things here and there, checking the drawers and closet, looking under the bed and just overall, filling his curiosity. Shi knocked lightly on the door, and heard him shuffling around in the room.
"Yea?" he called.
"Its Shi. Ok to come in?" she asked.
"Yea." Kale called back, and Shi opened the door.
Kale looked up at her, and smiled, then looked at Madende. He was leaning against the door frame, looking around the room. Kale raised an eyebrow, and watched him with amusement.
"You know, sis. After all these years of living in this house, I've never been in half these rooms." Madende muttered, walking in.
"They all look the same to me. Madende, this is Kale. Kale, this is Madende." Shi said, introducing the two.
"Weren't you the one that was telling me to calm down after I kind of fell on top of you?" Kale asked.
"Well, you didn't fall on top of me, I caught you. And yes, that was me." Madende said, smiling.
"Oh…thanks." Kale said, returning the smile.
"How was dinner?" Shi asked, looking at the empty tray.
"Great!" Kale said, smiling up at her.
"Good. Glad you liked it. Abi will be glad to hear you enjoyed it." Shi said, picking up the tray.
"Ready to come down for a little while?" Madende asked.
"I guess…I'm really shy around a lot of people, so don't expect me to talk much." Kale said, looking at him nervously.
"That's ok. You won't need to talk with Adam down there. He does enough talking for us all." Madende teased, walking over to the bedside.
"Madende is gonna help you get down the stairs." Shi said from the doorway.
"Ok." Kale said, nodding and slowly standing.
He was a bit wobbly still, even though he had just been up moving around, which made Madende slightly nervous. Looking at Shi, he raised an eyebrow and looked back at Kale, who started to walk to the door way. After stumbling a few times, Madende sighed and shook his head.
"Want a lift?" he asked, and Kale looked at him oddly.
"Like how?" he asked.
"Like on my back. Or you can wrap your arm around my neck and stable yourself." Madende replied.
"Eh…I'll try stabling myself first, and if that don't work, then we'll go for the piggy-back ride." Kale said.
"Ok." Madende said, nodding.
Kale leaned on Madende's shoulder, stabling himself, as they started down the first flight of stairs. After a few minutes, they made down the final set of stairs, and into the living room, where Adam and Abi were wrestling in the floor. Jake was sitting on the couch, shaking his head, his hand over his eyes, while Jeric was sitting on the other couch laughing at the two. Eclipse looked up at Madende and Kale, and raised an eyebrow, while Shi took the empty tray into the kitchen. Madende helped Kale to the couch and let him sit, before taking his seat next to Jeric.
"Guys, pause the wrestling match for a sec, will ya?" Shi asked, coming back out of the kitchen.
Abi and Adam stopped and lay side by side, looking at her. Shi smiled at them then looked at Kale, who was looking around nervously.
"Why don't you introduce yourself? Then the rest of us will do the same." she said, gently touching Kale's shoulder.
He jumped slightly at the touch, then nodded and sighed.
"I'm Kale Zachary Akins." he said quietly.
"I'm Adam Wayne Baker!" Adam said quickly, smiling.
"And I'm Abi Rixa Ember." Abi said, also smiling.
"Madende Lee Fox." Madende said, nodding.
"Jeric Cris Albain." Jeric said, smirking.
"Jacob Mathew Wolfe, but call me Jake." Jake said.
"I'm Shianne Renee Fox, but you can call me Shi." Shi said.
"And I'm Eclipse Dakota Black." Eclipse said, looking at Kale.
Kale's eyes widened and his jaw dropped open, as he stared at Eclipse. Eclipse looked back at him, and raised an eyebrow.
"What?" he asked.
"You look just like him!" Kale said.
"Who?" Shi and Abi asked, also raising an eyebrow and looking at Kale.
"Billy Black." Kale said, looking up at Shi. "He was a close friend of mine…but…those bastards took him."
"Who did?" Shi asked.
"Who is Billy Black?" Eclipse asked, sitting forward.
"I told you. He was a friend of mine, and he was looking for his older brother, Eclipse Black." Kale said, looking back at Eclipse. "And you look just like him! Or well, I should say, he looks like you." he added.
"Older brother?" Shi asked, looking at Eclipse.
"I don't have a little brother. Or any sibling at that." Eclipse said, shaking his head.
"Really, you two look just alike. You have the same last name, and everything." Kale said. "The only difference is the eyes." he said.
"What?" Eclipse asked. "This is ridiculous. I don't have a little brother!" he snapped, getting to his feet and leaving the room.
Shi glared at him as he jogged up the stairs and disappeared into their bedroom, slamming the door behind himself.
"Did I say something wrong?" Kale asked, looking up at her.
"No, no. Don't you worry about him. I'll take care of him. You stay down here and enjoy yourself, and get to know these others ok?" Shi asked, looking at him and smiling.
"I'll try…But I'm really tired suddenly." Kale said, putting a hand to his head.
"You ok?" Madende asked, sitting forward.
"The…room…is…spinning…" Kale muttered, before falling forward.
Madende jumped forward, again catching him before he hit the ground, and picked him up. Abi and Adam looked at Kale nervously, as Madende carried him up stairs to his room.
"I think he was more than beaten." Jeric said, watching as the two disappeared from sight.
"What do you think happened?" Abi asked, looking at him.
"I don't know, but being beaten won't keep knocking you out like that. He acts like he's been hit with a tranquilizer or something." Jeric replied.
Shi sighed and turned towards the stair case. Adam looked at her nervously, as she started up the stairs.
"Shi? You ok?" he asked, making the others look up at her.
"I will be." she said, continuing up the stairs to her room.
"Uh oh…" Adam muttered, as the door shut and locked.
Jeric, Abi, Jake, and Adam exchanged nervous glances, and sat silently, listening.
A/n: hehe yea, theres the next chapter! new demon, big lovers spat...hmm...sounds bad, riiiggghhhttt?? hehe. not tellin anything! you have to read the next chappy!! so!! review! XD LaterZ!! SHOUT OUT!!
to Abi!! 3
