Author's note: Thanks again for the reviews and sorry for the delay. Hopefully the next chapter won't be as long.
/
It was pitch black in the corridor. It would be a good few hours or so before the sun showed its face. Until then, it was uncommonly dark on the island. Nobody stirred, the majority of the inhabitants and even the wildlife were still sleeping. With no emergencies and International Rescue only responding to a select few at a time given that two of their operatives were still out of commission, for the first time in a long while, many of the family were able to enjoy a full night's sleep without being disturbed by someone who needed their assistance. There was an exception to the rule however, a pair of feet silently padded through the corridor. They were carefully positioned, silent as their owner took great care to ensure that no one else was awoken by his early morning walk.
A quick flick of the switch would have sufficed to light the place up. He preferred the darkness. Not only did it serve to conceal the fact that he was up and about but it somehow made it easier to think. It was as if the fact that he could scarcely make anything out somehow meant that he no longer had so much to distract him. Ordinarily, the dark would have seemed somewhat daunting to him. Over the past few nights however he had found that it offered a peace and solace that he seldom found anywhere else. It was sitting in the dark and the safety of his lounge that he found himself able to escape the screams which had been haunting him since they had returned. Whilst he might not sleep, at least he could relax and attempt to try and reorganise his thoughts somewhat. No matter how much he thought he had sorted things out however, when the sun came up, it had a way of throwing them back into chaos in the most violent way possible.
He guided himself along by running a hand across the wall as he walked. His fingers registered the slight difference in texture as he emerged into the lounge. Here, there was more natural light coming from the large glass windows. Raising his eyes, he stared up towards the heavens. It truly was a beautiful night. A thousand and one stars seemed to be shining brightly above their heads. Up there somewhere would be John, finally returned to his satellite home after almost a week. He lost himself in the canvas of tiny balls of light, burning up the darkness. They created a strange form of longing in the pit of his stomach. He missed those nights he had spent with his family looking up to the sky and making out the constellations. If only his parents were here, they would have known how to make him fall in love with those stars again. They would have made everything better. It was strange, he mused, that even at his age, after so long without his parents, he still found himself longing for their presence.
He let out a sigh, rubbing his arm as he stepped out fully into the room. He kept his eyes fixed firmly on the sky, finding himself easily lost in the number of stars. They made him feel tiny, reminding him of just how small he was in the scheme of things. He stumbled a little, catching himself on the sofa but still keeping his gaze firmly rooted heavenwards. The moon was out as well, it wasn't quite fool but would be in another couple of days and still served to provide an impressive silver disc hanging overhead, generating a fair amount of light.
He felt the hairs on his arms stand on end as someone walked over his grave. It was enough to cause him to shudder and tear his attention away from the sky above. His heart was beating quickly all of a sudden as a nervousness began to take hold. He wondered why, despite the complete and utter silence which surrounded him, he hadn't picked up on the very simple fact that he wasn't the only one currently breathing. Perhaps because whoever else was in the room with him was doing so very softly, it was so discrete as to be practically unnoticeable. That automatically limited the amount of people that it could be on their tiny island. He stood there frozen in place. He fancied that he knew just where they were. Sitting on the sofa opposite and he got the distinct impression that they were looking right at him. Despite that gut feeling, he found himself unwilling to verify the assumption. Instead, choosing to fix the darkness for a while longer.
There was only so long that he could ignore them for. Whilst a part of him simply wanted to run and escape, he was aware that wasn't a possibility either. Very slowly, without even particularly wanting to, he found himself turning round.
His intuition had proved to be correct. There was indeed someone sitting on the sofa, in the scheme of things not all that far away. Because of the darkness, he could make comparatively little more than their silhouette out. There was one thing which was impossible to miss however a set of green eyes were there glinting slightly in the moonlight as they fixed him. From time to time, they would vanish as, he guessed, she blinked. Neither of them spoke. His mouth was dry as for some reason, his heart began to hammer in his chest. Was he afraid? It certainly felt like he was as his mouth ran dry, preventing him from doing anything else other than uttering out in a sigh breath:
"Kayo..."
"Good to see that you haven't forgotten my name. After all this time, I was sort of thinking you might have."
She spoke quietly but there was no denying the anger behind her words. Somehow, although it was little more than a whisper, it somehow managed to carry a powerful toxicity which made him want to shrink away and hide. Scott remained frozen to the spot. In other circumstances, he might have called it shock which left him in such a state. Kayo should not have been out of her bed. Over the past few days, she had gradually become a little more mobile, moving through the house slowly at a hobble. She wasn't very easy on her feet. He'd watched with a pained expression from his slightly open door. He knew that she was meant to be resting. That however wasn't what was paralysing him right now however. He knew fear well enough to know when it had a hold over him. He couldn't respond to her statement but only stared.
He tried to think of some form of justification. Some explanation for his behaviour. It was there but somehow he couldn't figure out how to express it. He found himself wanting to escape, to put some distance between the two of them. Her eyes narrowed, she shifted in the darkness, readjusting her position slightly:
"Two weeks… Even colonel Casey's managed two visits. I haven't seen you once."
"It's late Kayo..." He took a step back, trying to put some space between them.
"Do not try that shit with me Scott!"
Still, she didn't raise her voice enough to risk waking the family. The menace and anger however was unmistakable. He found himself backing off. Kayo leaned forwards. The moonlight cast shadows over her features. She remained daunting, dangerous. He didn't know how to respond. Her fists were clenched. He averted his gaze for a moment, aware that he was in the wrong. She must have sensed some of his shame, as she tensed up. He could see some of the anger and contempt behind her green gaze. The young woman huffed with amusement. Her teeth flashed in the silvery slight as she gave him a wolf's grin. The eldest of the brothers shifted uneasily, barely even able to meet her gaze. She seemed to have calmed down somewhat as her next comment was far more relaxed but still managed to carry something threatening with it:
"I reckon even with one lung, I'm more than a match for you."
"One lung?" He looked up suddenly, sure that he must have misheard.
Despite the darkness, Scott felt that he knew Kayo well enough to be able to see in his mind's eye the expression that she would be pulling. He fancied that he could see that scowl, her brow furred as she stood there, arms folded across her chest. Her head would be tilted ever-so-slightly to the left, trying to figure him out. Silence hung between them. One which only served to inform Scott that he hadn't misheard. She would have corrected him if he had said something incorrect, especially given the current situation. That left him struck dumb. Simply gawking at her. It was probably a good thing that she couldn't see him, see the shock and the pain on his face. It was a while before Kayo spoke in a voice which had lost its rage and was now soft, almost forgiving:
"They didn't tell you?"
"I-I didn't know..."
His encounters with others were strange. Whilst he could clearly remember them. They often appeared a bit foggy in his mind, leaving him sometimes unsure if he had happened at all or if they were part of some dream. Things didn't always seem to be real to him any more. A part of him was convinced that he was going to wake up back in that damned cell or in the room with the dusty white tiles. Some of him though refused to acknowledge that had ever happened in the first place. He found himself helplessly tumbling between the two of them on a daily basis. The latter he could live with, it was the former which kept him from sleeping and caused him to seek solace in the solitude of the earliest hours of the morning. The confusion left him trawling his mind, trying to recall if any of his family had mentioned Kayo's situation to him before. He liked to think it would have left a big enough impact on him for it to register. If they had, it certainly wasn't present in his memories any more.
He felt weak legged, his limbs were shaking as the implications of what Kayo had just said gradually began to settle in. The loss of a lung would prove to be a crippling wound. He didn't know when it had occurred. The Mechanic would have been the cause, there was little doubt of that. Whether he had been the one to actually tear it out or not remained to be seen. The eldest brother suspected it was likely something the doctors had done when they had managed to get her to safety. At the end of the day, it didn't so matter so much as the fact that it was gone. He wanted to say something. Anything, just to express his sympathy. He remained frozen to the spot, gripped and paralysed by a mixture of pain and regret. Tanusha's soft sigh as she continued barely even seemed to register with him:
"Makes sense given how you've been acting these past few days. I guess they didn't want to you to worry about it."
"I don't know..." Anything he tried to say came across an uncertain, incoherent mumblings.
"Is that the best you've got?" The anger crept back in to her clipped and hostile words. "Like I said, I'm done with this bullshit day in and day out. The others are too polite to say it but they are too. So I suggest you sit your ass down and cut the crap."
He wanted to run. To flee as far away as humanly possible. If Grandma were here, she would have given the young woman some very stern words indeed. Bad language was not something generally tolerated in the Tracy household. He doubted that Kyrano would have taken very well to hearing his daughter utter such profanities. Their effect on the eldest brother was profound however, causing him to lower his gaze. Slowly, he did as he was told. Walking round and very slowly, sitting down so as to be opposite the young woman. Her eyes didn't stray away from him for a second. Wary least he try and escape. He made no such attempt however. Instead, he simply sat there, his head lowered and unable to face her.
There was so much that he wanted – needed – to say. For some reason, sitting there, all he could do was remember how much she had suffered before his eyes. Those screams which had been haunting him came back with a vengeance, as did the Mechanic's words and taunts. Scott closed his eyes, choosing to bury his head in his hands. He could have stopped it. He should have stopped it… That realization spun round in his mind. Shame gripped him, preventing him from even daring to look up at his friend or attempting to speak? How could he express sympathy for her right now? It would never be enough, he knew that much. Nothing could ever take back what had happened. He'd tried running from it. Doing everything in his power to distance himself from what had happened. The young man had told himself that Kayo would never want to see him, knowing that he could have stopped her torture with only a few words. He knew in his heart that was wrong.
He raised his gaze to meet Kayo. He saw not the young woman sitting on the sofa opposite him but rather her agonized face as she had been trapped, strapped to the wall as electric current was passed through her body. This time, he couldn't look away. Tears began to flow down his cheeks uncontrollably:
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry..."
He couldn't help himself. The sobs came uncontrollably, tears cascading down his cheeks. He sounded weak. His pleas were desperate. Without warning, all of the tension seemed to have released itself. The dam which had been holding back the flood had abruptly gave way allowing the waters to spill. Thoughts became a blurry mess as his own sorrow and pain took over, drowning everything else out in the process. He cried loudly, losing himself. It had been a long time since he had last lost control like this. He'd lost both of his parents, he knew what it felt like to be literally swamped by his own suffering and the feeling of loss.
The soft padding of feet on the floor didn't even register and Kayo came over to stand in front of him. She looked at him sympathetically, the anger had vanished. Scott kept his head in his hands, loud sobs continued to escape him. Reaching out tentatively, the young woman cautiously wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He tensed up as if somehow the gentleness had hurt him. Surprised by the gesture but still crying, he closed his eyes slouched over allowing himself to be swallowed up by his own sorrow. The young woman tightened her grip, ignoring the twinge of her abdominal muscles which informed her that she was far from completely healed up. She rested her head against his shoulders, listening to regular thumping of his heart. She whispered softly, under her breath but just loud enough for him to be able to hear her:
"I don't blame you..."
His breath hitched as for a moment the sobbing stopped letting her know that he'd most definitely heard her. It took him a moment to shift round, allowing her to sit down on the couch whilst he continued to cry, his head buried against her and hands holding on as if he feared that she might vanish. She rubbed his back basically, trying to ease him through it. In truth, her motivations weren't entirely unselfish, as she found herself glancing over her shoulder to ensure that they weren't about to have some company. She needed to keep Scott relatively quiet so as to avoid waking any of the others. Time seemed to lose all of its importance as they stayed there like that. Was it recovering? Tanusha wasn't so sure. It felt a lot like a simple outcry of pain which her friend had been repressing for too long.
It was a while before he mustered both the strength and the will to raise his gaze to meet hers. His eyes were red as some of his last tears continued to trickle down his cheeks. A soft and understanding smile graced her features as she reached out and delicately rubbed the last few drops of water away. Stroking his cheek as she did so, grimacing briefly at the feel of scratchy hair from his beard as she did so. He must have caught on as he let out a chuckle which became mixed with a sob:
"I didn't keep my promise."
"No… You didn't..." Her voice trailed off for a moment as she smiled softly. "Care to make it up to me?"
The sky of the horizon was just starting to turn a familiar pale blue as the sun thought about rising. With winter approaching, the air was cool outside or at least as "cool" as the south Pacific ever got. For those who had become accustomed to its summer heat, it proved to be decidedly chilly at times, especially if they hadn't left their room in quite a while. The rocks leading down to the beach of Matteo Island were steeper than those which could be found on its neighbour. They made for a somewhat more difficult descent if you wanted to reach the sands. Scott was cautious as he descended with his bag on his back, a large part of his attention focused behind him to see if his friend was keeping up and not struggling.
She was progressing slowly, aware that she was not as strong as she would have been only a month ago. In order to steady herself, she reached out in order to brace herself against some of the rocks. They didn't have that much further to go in the scheme of things. Despite that knowledge, he remained attentive. A tumble could prove to be a painful activity indeed. As such, the young man stayed as close as possible, ready to dart over in a second if his presence was required, knowing full-well that Kayo was far too proud to ever ask for his help.
Finally, his feet touched the soft sands of the beach. His friend joined him a moment later. Her rapid and loud breaths confirmed that she had pushed herself to get here. One lung was something which was taking her a fair amount of time to get used to. She knew how to control her breathing, not giving into panic but simply taking deep breaths. She wasn't getting as much oxygen as she needed. The organ she had left was straining to allow her to keep up her physical activity. He waited patiently, waiting until she had recovered. It wasn't much different to how she would have been had she run a marathon. It took a while but eventually she turned to him, giving him a soft but understanding smile. A brief nod confirmed that she was ready to continue.
They headed over to a few smaller rocks which lay on the sands. Tanusha was quick to settle on one, making herself comfortable as her gaze scanned the horizon which was gradually becoming brighter. She took a deep breath, filling her lung with the fresh morning air before letting out a contented sigh. Scott smiled briefly, watching her for a moment before setting about his business. A part of him was still convinced that his was insane. Kayo should have been in bed recovering or at least inside and not putting any strain on herself whatsoever as opposed to scampering over rocks so as to get to the beach. Her exact motivations for coming out here weren't too clear to him. She'd been rather vague and he hadn't pushed the matter as much as he perhaps should have. It didn't really matter. He knew that he wouldn't have denied her.
Out of his bag, he got the portable gas-burner and began to set it up. His attention drifted back over to the island. There weren't any lights on at the moment, indicating that the other inhabitants were likely still sleeping, blissfully unaware that two of their number had gone out for a morning camping session. They would have a fit when they realized what had happened. Something they would both no doubt have to face later on when they eventually headed back. They had slipped out, it was unlikely that they would be able to slip in once more without being noticed. There was a metal clank as he positioned the frying pan just above the flickering blue flames. It would take a while before it was hot enough to actually be of any use. He looked inside of the bag and pulled out a blanket. The chill in the air was tolerable for him, Kayo however was shivering. The hairs on her arms stood on end. Getting up, he walked over to her. The young woman didn't so much as turn her head, looking actually rather surprised as he draped the fabric around her shoulders.
She muttered a soft "thanks". He simply smiled and left her to her own devices. Settling behind her, he hoped that the horizon was able to distract her long enough for his little surprise to work. Very silently, he slipped a couple of tools out from from his bag, placing them in front of him. His gaze flicked up to fix the young woman. She seemed to be still be contemplating the vastness of what lay out there in the beyond. Good… He set about his work.
In other circumstances, he suspected that she would have sensed that he was up to something. Kayo Kyrano was a very difficult person to surprise – be it good or bad. It was an invaluable trait given her line of work and one which she seemed to have been born with. Even things such as birthday parties bad been somewhat complicated to organise as she seemed to sense that something was going on. Thankfully, right now, she seemed to be too distracted to note the spraying sound as he squirted some shaving foam out onto the palm of his hand and carefully applied it to his face. With the help of a mirror, he ensured that it covered most of the short beard which had grown there. Despite the fact that he had witnessed it grow, he still wasn't quite accustomed to how it felt beneath his fingers. Raising his eyes once more to see his friend, he decided to risk starting up a conversation, just to avoid raising any suspicion:
"Why'd you want to come out here?"
"I just needed to clear my head." She paused taking a deep breath of the sea air to fill her lung. "I've been cooped up in there for days. It felt like I was being crushed."
"You could have asked the others." His eyes widened abruptly as he decided to rectify something he had just said before it was potentially misunderstood. "Not that I mind being out here with you."
"I know… I just wanted to live a little dangerously, that's all. As much as I can any more at least."
He stopped mid-shave, feeling an immense amount of sympathy for the young woman. Her current situation must have been truly maddening for her. He didn't need to see her face to know that he would find pain there. He let out a sigh before finishing with removing his moustache. The pan was almost hot enough for them to envision actually cooking something. He was assuming that Kayo was going to be at least slightly hungry, despite the early morning hour. Hurrying slightly, he decided he had best finish with his shave before she turned around for one reason or another, after all it was supposed to be a surprise. The idea had come to him rather spontaneously as he had been quietly preparing his bag for their little trip as he had recalled all of the times that Tanusha had complained about it. Ideally he would have done the job in a bathroom where it was both brighter and easier to see himself in the mirror. For the sake of his friend however, he had decided that this might make for the better laugh.
The job done, at least somewhat satisfactorily, he was quick to wash his face with a bottle of water before turning back to the pan. From now on out, it was simply a matter of acting casual and waiting until she turned around and noticed. He got all of the ingredients he had carefully packed away out of his bag, mixing them into a bowl. It was strange but the action of breaking the eggs seemed to bring back to him the bizarreness of the current situation seemed to come home.
"You know… I don't think I've ever cooked pancakes on a beach before sunrise."
"Maybe its something that you should do more often."
"You haven't even tried them yet." He looked down at the bowl on his lap. He could make a good pancake, these conditions however weren't exactly the ones he was used to.
"I'm sure they'll be fine. I used to wake up hoping you'd be in the kitchen cooking some up."
Scott found himself smiling fondly at the memory. Things had always seemed a lot simpler back then. It had been just him and his family and those who needed their help. He had enjoyed making the pancakes not only because it spared them from any attempts his grandmother might have made to try preparing breakfast (if any of her concoctions could even be described as such) but because his brothers and Kayo seemed to enjoy it as well. Their smiles made it all worth the while. He made an effort to do it sporadically so as to avoid falling into some kind of a routine and to better be able to enjoy the surprise. Maybe that was why she had asked that he come out here with her and do this, to remind her of all times. Some nostalgia could be a good way to soothe the soul.
He tossed some of the mixture into the pan. It made a delightful sizzling sound as it made contact with the metal. The trick was to ensure that it didn't stick to the pan. The fact that he had actually begun cooking caused him to avert his attention from the young woman and to concentrate on the preparation of their meal if they wanted to avoid a burnt breakfast. As such, he was somewhat startled to hear Kayo suddenly burst out:
"When did you shave?"
"Surprised?" He risked looking up in order to give her a teasing grin.
"Yes." The young woman got up from her seat, wrapping the blanket around her shoulders as she did so. "It does suit you a lot better."
"Thanks."
She settled next to him. Reaching into his bag in and pulling out a couple of cups alongside a flask. Cautiously, she poured out the coffee which they had prepared earlier. He concentrated on dealing with the pancake. It was about done. He gave it a flip with his wrist, manoeuvring to catch it as he always did. The darkness proved to be an extra challenge he could have done without. Overshooting slightly, he only just managed to make the save. Catching the pancake only with the end of his pan and having to work it back in carefully to avoid it slipping out. Kayo simply rolled her eyes at his near failure. She got two plastic plates well as a knife and fork out from the bag as well as the maple syrup.
With the first one done, he cautiously transferred it to her plate. She smiled and mouthed a 'thank you'. Scott smiled softly as he poured the rest of the mix back into the pan. Given that this one was for him, he was a little more careless when it came to whether or not it was burned preferring to watch Kayo's reaction to her own breakfast. She took the bottle of maple syrup and squeezed out a generous helping, enough to surprise her friend. She then proceeded to cut off a small piece and sample it. It was chewed for a few moments, savoured. Tanusha didn't use words to express what she made of it but rather turned to look at him with a true look of glee on her face. She gave him a single nod to let him know that she was enjoying it.
They ate in relative silence, looking out over the horizon. It was perhaps one of the stranger places for him to have breakfast, especially given the relative early hour. For all that, it did offer a strange sense of tranquillity he hadn't been able to indulge in in quite some time. Had Kayo known that? Was that why she had wanted to come out here? He didn't question, choosing instead to enjoy the moment for what it was.
It was Kayo who spoke eventually, deciding to dredge up some moment from the long forgotten past for a some reason:
"Remember that time ours dads caught us smoking?"
"Pretty sure. It was the second longest I've ever been grounded in my life." There was a brief smile there as she thought about it.
"I miss those days." The young woman took a sip of her coffee. "Sneaking around, getting into trouble..."
"You mean getting me into trouble." He raised an eyebrow knowingly. "Our dads always seemed to blame me for leading you astray."
"You're saying you didn't?" It was her time to smile teasing him as she sat there.
"I seem to remember you egging me on more often than not. Can't we agree to share the blame 50/50?"
Kayo laughed. The fact that she was struggling to breathe as she normally would have somehow seemed to fail to register with her. He should have scolded her, told her to take it easy. Instead, he found himself chuckling along. It proved to be somewhat contagious, causing him to laugh with her. It probably only lasted a few seconds, he doubted that her lung would allow her to keep it up for any amount of time. The sun was beginning to come up over the horizon now, bringing with it the first whispers of warmth, with it came the realization that the rest of their family would soon follow.
He didn't know how Kayo was planning to play this. Did she intend to stay out here and brave the consequences or was she planning to slip back into her room before anyone noticed? He knew which option seemed the more appealing to him but then he hadn't just spent several weeks bedridden. Regardless, he found himself glancing over his shoulder back towards the house. He made the suggestion softly, allowing her to know that it was entirely optional:
"Come on… We should get back to bed if you don't want to get found out."
"Is that an invitation?" The teasing glint behind Kayo's eyes as she spoke with a slight smirk tugging at the corner of her lips.
"It had better not be!"
A stern and dry voice from behind them caused the two picnickers to jump, rather literally in Scott's case. With a single kick, he leapt up, battle ready and his heart racing. He hadn't been expecting company, neither of them had been. At the very least, he fancied that he would probably have heard them sneaking up beforehand. Naturally he recognized the intruder quickly and dropped his guard accordingly. Shock, gradually began to give way to embarrassment and the knowledge that the two of them were in trouble. He felt like a kid with his hand caught in the cookie jar. On an interesting note, he'd never before seen Kayo turn quite such a bright shade of pink. The colour of her cheeks rivalled that of the sky as the sun began to rise. She averted her gaze, looking down at her feet instead.
He wasn't about to question where she had come from. No doubt accessing the passages which lead to Matteo island had drawn some attention. Either that or she'd gone into one of their rooms to check on them as she often did periodically throughout the year and had noticed they were missing. Maybe she had even witnessed them sneak out. It wasn't as if they had tried to conceal their departure. Whatever the case, she was here now and that was all that mattered. They were most definitely in trouble. With her arms folded across her chest and a stern expression, there could be little doubt that she was not best impressed by their actions. This was a position Scott had found himself in several times before albeit not for some time now. He knew full well what to expect and therefore how to act. Right now, it would be best to remain silent and let her do the talking. She would let them know when it was time for explanations. Sure enough, she was quick to continue:
"Just how many pills did the two of you pop? You can't just walk away like that! Just imagine if Kyrano had gone to check on you in the night Kayo! The poor man would have a heart attack! Just what were you trying to do?"
"It's my fault..." Kayo kept her attention focused on the ground as she spoke quietly. "I asked him to do it."
"I figured as much..."
The elder's voice softened noticeably causing the two members of the guilty party to look up with wide eyes. She smiled gently before coming over to them. They simply watched still slightly apprehensive. Even as she settled next to Kayo, sitting down on the rock and looking out over the horizon, mirroring the young woman's actions from earlier. She was met with stunned silence. Scott suspected that she was aware of the confusion and certain feeling of uneasiness that she was creating. No doubt that was some of the intention. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she broke the silence speaking in a relaxed tone:
"So… You two feel like a little chat in the early morning sun?"