Chapter Two

Tommy

The following days were a blur for Tommy. School, karate, home. Nothing seemed to dull the ache in his heart left by Kim.

He should call. He wanted to call her so badly that his fingers kept reaching for the phone. But he couldn't do it. What more could she tell him? There was nothing that she could say that would make him feel better. If anything, he would just feel worse. What if the new guy answered the phone? There was no way Tommy would be able to play nice.

While walking home from school on the third day of this stupor, Tommy's communicator beeped.

Lifting his wrist to his mouth and looking around for anyone who could be watching, Tommy responded, "What's going on, Alpha?"

"Tommy! There's trouble in the park near your house! I'm detecting monster activity! I'll send the other Rangers your way!" the robot shrieked.

"Alright, Alpha. I'm on my way." Tommy murmured. Turning back from his street, he started running down the opposite direction towards the park.

Once he reached the open fields and playground, Tommy paused. Everything seemed calm and quiet. That normally meant that things were about to get crazy.

Slowly, Tommy paced through the grass. No children playing on the playground. No one walking a dog. The place was completely empty and silent, which put Tommy more on edge.

Finally, Tommy brought his communicator back to his lips. "Alpha, this place is deserted. I don't see any monsters or even people anywhere."

Nothing.

"Alpha?" he tried again.

Suddenly, Tommy jolted forward and onto the ground after feeling a hit to his lower back.

"Hello, Ranger." a gravelly voice said from behind him. "Fancy meeting you here. And all alone, too."

Tommy leapt to his feet and whirled around to face his attacker. Setting his stance and raising his fists, he said, "In the flesh. Looking for a fight, old man?"

Tommy faced a man dressed in head to toe black robes. The man carried a tall, carved wooden staff in his hands and he looked to be middle aged. He had long white hair and cutting blue eyes.

"Ahh, dear Tommy. Always ready for battle." the man said.

The man swung his staff in the air and a burst of bright energy erupted from it. Tommy had to shield his eyes with a hand in order to try and see. But when the light was gone and he looked back to where the man was standing, no one was there.

Feeling his heart ratchet up a notch, Tommy turned fast to look behind him. Another jab bombarded his chest and he went flying in the air. He hit the ground roughly and he had to catch his breath.

Tommy!

Tommy looked around wildly. That voice…

Tommy, get up!

"Kim?" he murmured. "Kim?"

But she was gone. Tommy jumped up and stood to face the man again. There was no time to think about Kim. Plus, he was probably only imagining it. Maybe that energy charge messed up his brain.

"Kim. Oh, Kim." the older man started laughing, "If only you knew the truth, Ranger."

Tommy grit his teeth. This guy was just trying to get to him.

But how does he know Kimberly? Tommy wondered.

"Are we going to fight or not?" Tommy growled, setting his feet once more.

"We are not."

"What?" Tommy asked, dumbfounded.

The old man brought his staff down so it stood beside him. "I've come with a message from my King."

Tommy frowned, "Oh yeah, what message is that?"

"Don't believe everything you see. Don't believe everything you hear. There are larger challenges to face and you will be right in the center with her."

"Her who?" Tommy asked. There was a low buzzing developing in his ears and he noticed that there was a new, shadowy light that began to gleam off of the older man.

"Time will tell. But when we meet again, you will not be so fortunate. We will fight. And I will win."

In a sharp flash, the man was gone.

When Tommy could see once more, the park was full of people. The playground was full of laughing children, men and women were out jogging or walking dogs, and some had blankets spread out to lay upon.

Tommy shook his head, trying to bring his thoughts up to speed.

"Tommy!"

He blinked and noticed his fellow Rangers jogging over to meet him. Every one of them looked concerned.

"Hey." Tommy said, still frowning.

What just happened? He wondered to himself.

"We've been trying to reach you through the communicator but all we heard was static." Adam said, pointing to his wrist.

"Are you ok?" Kat asked, placing a hand on his arm.

"Y-Yeah." Tommy responded. "I just...something really weird just happened."

"What's up?" Rocky asked, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"There was a guy. Older than us and dressed in robes. He had a powerful staff that could emit energy. But after he hit me a couple times, he told me a message from his so-called King." Tommy explained. "He said 'Don't believe everything you see. Don't believe everything you hear'. Then something about larger challenges and working with 'her'. Whoever that is."

The Rangers all looked at each other.

"Tommy, this park is full of people. How did you meet this man and have this conversation with everyone here?" Kat asked him, worry flush on her face.

"I...I don't know. I don't have any explanation beyond that. When I got here, there was no one around. I don't know what happened." Tommy shook his head, still trying to clear it. "He stopped fighting me, but he said he would be back."

"Let's get out of here and head back to the Youth Center. I think you need to decompress, Tommy." Tanya said.

Tommy nodded. "Yeah. Let's go."

Kimberly

The next day, Kimberly was awoken by several women dressed in plain, black wool dresses. Their hair was pulled back in kerchiefs that covered their heads. They stood in a crescent shape with their hands folded before them.

"We are here to attend to you, miss." the oldest of the group said. "We will draw a bath for you and deliver breakfast."

"Um." was all Kim could think to say from bed. She had surprisingly slept like a rock, which was a bit worrisome. Anything could have happened. That stupid boy could have been back at any time.

At first, Kimberly thought about disobeying and staying in bed so the ladies would leave. But they simply stood there waiting, calm and quiet.

Finally, the eldest said, "We are to prepare you for court, miss. We have two hours to do this and we cannot waste anymore time."

Kim sighed and got up from bed. The sooner she spoke with someone at court, the better. She needed to prepare herself to try and dissuade these people from keeping her here. She was willing to beg if necessary.

The next two hours slogged by. Kim had never had someone help her bathe before (as a teenager), so that was awkward. Two women lead her to a door she had somehow missed in the corner of the room, which wound up being a massive bathroom with a clawfoot tub.

While bathing, Kim looked out the open door to see the rest of the women bustling about. One was setting full plates down on a small white wooden table, another was pulling gowns from the closet, and two others were arranging what looked like hair and makeup supplies on large white wooden vanity with a giant mirror.

After her bath, Kimberly felt like her skin was raw from all the scrubbing. Her wet hair was toweled dry, she was given a long, luxurious white robe to wear, and she was lead to the small table covered in dishes filled with various breakfast foods.

Until that moment, Kim hadn't realized how hungry she felt. There was so much food on the table that she knew she would never be able to finish it all, but she sampled from each dish. Scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, ham, a bowl of fresh fruit, buttered toast, orange juice, and what smelled like coffee sat before her. For the first time since awakening in that suite, Kimberly felt satisfied.

After breakfast, she was dressed in several different gowns. They varied in color, fabric, and ornateness.

"You may choose from these, miss." one of the younger attendants said.

Kim pursed her lips. The one gown that stood out to her was a purple empire style gown with silver trimming and white lace.

"That one." she pointed to.

The attendants swiftly dressed her and then sat her down at the vanity. One woman dressed her hair at the back of her head in a loose set of two buns and curls made with hot rollers framed her face. Another lady began applying a bit of cosmetics to her face. Kimberly was thankful that they didn't make her up too much. That was not her at all.

The woman finished Kimberly's makeup and Kim looked up into the mirror. She looked stunning, if she did say so herself. The look was mainly natural, accentuating her features in a way that didn't pop too much. It was the first time Kim had her makeup so professionally done and she liked it.

Silently she chided herself. This was not a friendly situation. She was being held against her will with no explanation so far. So as kindly as these women seemed, Kim wouldn't go out of her way to be kind to them.

When Kimberly stood from the cushioned seat of the vanity, she walked back towards the bed and turned to face the attendants. They were once again standing in a semicircle facing her. It was as though they were waiting for some direction.

It was then that the blast hit.

Kimberly was thrown onto the floor as the booming sounds of some sort of crash shook the building.

The attendants all shrieked, grasping onto each other, the walls, or any other furnishing that was closest to where they had been tossed

"What's happening?" Kim cried over the din of the women's voices.

A swath of dust filtered into the room through the now smashed windows. Kimberly rushed to the balcony to see what was going on, but she was halted by one of the women.

"No! You mustn't go out there! There could be another attack!" she hissed, then grabbed Kim's arm and yanked her back to the center of the room.

Kimberly's heart was racing. She looked over the women and noted that some of them were nursing wounds, so she rushed over and started trying to help in anyway she could. Kim used several cloth napkins from breakfast to staunch some cuts and sat some of the women down on the bed or chairs to ease what looked like head injuries. Several of the attendants watched her in surprise. She kept working. Was Kim supposed to just watch while others were hurting?

"It's not safe here." the eldest woman of the group murmured. "We need to get you to safety, miss."

Kimberly couldn't agree more.

The women all collectively started moving to the door, placing Kimberly between them all as though they could protect her from another hit to the building.

Kim followed the women out the door. She couldn't help but stop and look down the opposite side of the hallway towards where the blast had struck.

The hallway was crushed by what looked like a giant bolder. The beautiful hallway was shattered: splintered hardwood, what looked like stone brick, and torn red carpeting was shrouded in a cloud of dust still settling.

"Come, miss." one of the ladies said.

Once again, Kimberly followed along. She had no other choice.