Chapter Twenty- Only in my Nightmares
Taichi walked along the back driveway of the school heading towards the soccer field. He yawned as he strolled lazily along, his equipment bag swinging by his side.
"Hey Tai!"
He turned suddenly to see Yamato's car pulling up the driveway. He stopped alongside Tai, the engine still going.
"Tai do you want to go to a movie with me?" Matt leaned out the driver's side window and ran his fingers through his blonde hair.
"Sorry Matt, we've got a game today, it won't be over until tonight."
"Oh, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Ok, see ya." Tai began to walked away.
"Hey Tai," Tai turned around again and saw Matt motioning for him to come back. He walked over and Matt leaned further out the window. He pulled Tai's head down and planted a kiss on his cheek.
Matt smiled and sat back down in the car. "See ya later babe." Taichi smiled and watched Yamato back out of the school driveway into the street.
As Tai continued to walk to the soccer field he noticed some of the other boys whispering amongst themselves and laughing. He then saw one point straight at him.
Tai sighed and looked down at the dusty ground. He felt a lump form in his throat. "They're all laughing at me aren't they..." he said to himself. A single tear rolled down his cheek.
Then Taichi turned in horror when he heard a terrible crash from down the street. He raced towards the main road leaving his bag in the dust.
When he reached the road he put his hand over his heart and burst into tears when he saw the scene in the street. There was Yamato's car, only now it was a pile of twisted metal, engulfed in flames.
Tai ran through the crowd of people and pushed by a police officer to see Matt's lifeless body in the street. He kneeled down by Matt's side with a look of disbelief on his face. Tai brushed Matt's golden hair off his bloody forehead.
"Yamato..." tears streamed down his face. Then he heard laughing. He turned to see the same boys from his soccer team still pointing and laughing at him.
He shot up and screamed at them. "What are you laughing about!? Yamato's dead! WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING!?" Taichi screamed at the top of his lungs. He tried to punch one of them but his hand touched only air. The distorted faces laughed louder and louder until Tai couldn't take it anymore.
He fell to the ground and slammed his fists against the concrete until his hands bled. Soon only Tai's cries could be heard as the world around him faded to black.
The form of a woman stood over Tai as he thrashed in his sleep. His body was covered in sweat. The woman smiled with satisfaction.
"Yes, perfect. Your suffering will feed my monster. The darkness is so beautiful," she said to herself as she looked around at the thirteen dreaming bodies.
"I turn around I can see what's behind me, I turn back around, I can't see what's ahead. And if you don't believe I've been here all alone, just turn around, just turn around." The music coming from Matt's lips blared from the speakers on either side of him. This was his best concert ever, he looked out at all the cheering students as he sang and played his bass.
Matt was in heaven, he had never had such a great performance in his whole life. As Matt sang, he looked down at the crowd for Taichi. Then, he stopped. He couldn't sing another note when he spotted Tai.
He saw Tai with his arms around some girl Matt didn't know. "What is he doing?" Matt tried to continue with the concert but he couldn't. His fingers fumbled over the strings and his voice wouldn't leave his throat. The audience started booing and throwing things at the band.
When he saw Tai kissing the girl and slammed his bass down on the stage. "Tai what are you doing!?" he yelled.
Tai ignored him. He only pulled the giggling girl closer to him and kissed her neck.
"Tai!" Matt could feel tears in his eyes. "How could he do this? After all we've been through!"
Matt jumped down from the stage and started running towards Tai. "I waited three years to be with him how could he leave me!?" As Matt ran he saw that Tai and the girl were forever far away. No matter how fast Matt ran they never got any closer.
Matt breathed harder and his heart pumped faster as he ran towards Tai. He loved him more than any other soul in the world, how could Tai break his heart like this? "It's like he doesn't even care..."
Matt's eyes opened wide when he saw the still distant image of Tai look straight at him with a big grin on his face. The girl in his arms laughed uncontrollably as Matt tried to reach them.
"TAI!!!!" Suddenly hands and arms surrounded Matt and kept him from moving another step. "Let me go!!" he screamed. The groping hands of the crowd were like a net holding him back. He watched helplessly as Tai and the laughing girl vanished from site.
"TAICHI!! Stop don't go!!" Tears rolled down Yamato's face and his cries were silenced by the smothering hands around him.
TK walked happily down the street humming a little tune to himself. He glanced down at the tiny package in his hands. "Kari's going to love this," he smiled. Inside was a ring with a tiny pink stone in it to match Kari's clothes. TK had saved up his money for weeks to buy it for her.
TK bounded up the steps to Kari's apartment building. He reached her front door and rang the bell. "I can't wait to see the look on her face when she opens it."
Tai opened the door. "Hey TK."
"Hi Tai, is Kari home?"
Tai stared at TK with a confused look on his face. "Are you feeling ok buddy?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Well I think you have the wrong apartment." Tai smiled.
"What? Come on Tai stop kidding around." TK laughed, "So is Kari home or not?"
"Seriously TK, I don't know anybody by that name."
TK's happy expression faded. "What? Don't tell me you don't know your own sister. Is today April Fools day or something?"
"I'm not kidding TK." Tai said.
"What? Your sister, Hikari Kamiya, you don't remember her!?"
"Nope, the name doesn't ring a bell."
"Tai I think your big hair is starting to effect your brain, I'll come back when you're feeling better."
TK walked away slowly and glanced back at the apartment door as Tai closed it. "I wonder what that was all about..." he thought.
"Who was that?" Tai's mother said who was washing dishes.
"It was TK, but he's really flipped."
"Why do you say that?"
"He was looking for some girl named Kari, have you ever heard of her?"
"I don't think so, I wonder why he would think she lived here." Mrs. Kamiya continued washing dishes and Tai sat down to watch TV.
"I wonder what was wrong with Tai, either this is some practical joke or he's really lost it." TK put the small box into his pocket and walked down the street. "Maybe Kari's at the park or something."
Then TK saw Yolei and Cody sitting on a bench outside the park chatting. TK jogged up to them.
"Hi TK," Yolei said.
"Hello TK," Cody said.
"Hi guys, have you seen Kari around?"
Cody and Yolei looked at each other for a second and then back at TK.
"Who?"
"What!? Don't tell me Tai's got you two in on the joke too."
"What joke? TK really, who's Kari? Is she a new girl or something?" Yolei asked.
"You're serious aren't you? What's going on!?"
Cody and Yolei just sat on the bench looking confused.
TK started to panic, "Why doesn't anyone remember Kari!? Even her own brother doesn't remember her, what's going on!?"
TK ran away from Cody and Yolei towards home. "I know how to tell if this is a joke."
When TK reached his apartment he opened a drawer in his room and took out a photo album. But when he opened it, his heart sank.
"Where are all the pictures of Kari I had in here!?" He flipped through the pages but Kari was not in a single picture. "I know there were some in here! She's not even in any of the group pictures!" TK's heart started beating faster.
He dashed through the apartment and put his shoes back on.
"TK where are you going in such a hurry?" his mom said who had arrived home while he was in his room.
"Mom, you remember Kari don't you!?"
"No I don't recall ever meeting her."
TK started at her with disbelief. "This isn't happening!" TK ran out the front door and down the hallway. He ran towards the school, his blood racing.
TK reached the school and burst through the door of the main office.
"Excuse me young man but why are you here? It's Saturday." A secretary said who was sitting in the office at a computer.
"I need to see the permanent records right away."
"Sorry those are classified."
"It's important!"
"I'm sorry we can't allow students to see the permanent records."
TK walked over to the file cabinet and pulled it open.
"Hey what are you doing!?"
TK shuffled through the papers but couldn't find Kari's name anywhere. "Where is it!?" he shouted. "It's like every trace of her has been erased!!"
"I think you need to leave now." the secretary said angrily.
"I won't leave until I find Kari!!"
"You won't find her." The secretary's voice suddenly changed.
"What did you say?"
"I said you won't find her." The secretary said in a deeper and almost evil voice.
"What!?" TK could feel tears filling his eyes has his pulse quickened. "Why not!?"
"There is no Kari." The secretary grinned at TK. TK looked at her in horror and dashed out of the room.
He ran down the hallways screaming out Kari's name, but to no avail.
In the darkened room of sleeping children, the woman in the red dress sat watching each Digidestined live through their own private hell.
Kari stood in the middle of the pitch black room, her hands tied behind her back around a pole. She felt like she had no strength left, not even enough to cry for help. Her will to live was gone.
"How long have I been like this?" She said to herself. "Imprisoned here...all alone."
Kari stared down at the floor, which didn't look much different from the walls or the ceiling.
It was torture living through each day in a place with no light. Darkness surrounded her, and loneliness.
"I think I once heard if someone is alone for long enough.. They'll start to go mad. Maybe I already have, I mean, I'm talking to myself."
Her hair stuck to her tear soaked face, but she couldn't even reach up to brush it away. Her eyes had lost all their glimmer as she stared blankly ahead.
Then, from somewhere, Kari heard a voice. She tipped her head up and listened.
"Kari where are you?"
"TK... No it's not possible." She then saw TK step through the darkness towards her. Hope flashed into her eyes when she saw him.
"TK, you're really here." Tears flowed out of Kari's eyes and she was overwhelmed with happiness.
"Kari, I finally found you! I've been looking for so long!"
"Oh TK, quick, come over here and untie me."
TK started walking slowly towards Kari. The Kari looked down at the floor and saw flames starting to form in a circle around her. Each time TK took a step towards her, the flames grew higher.
"TK stop, you're going to walk into the fire."
TK kept walking. Step after step, the flames flickered up until Kari was surrounded by a wall of fire.
"TK stop walking! The fire, don't you see it!?" Kari watched as TK began walking into the fire. First his hat, then his clothes started smouldering.
"TK!! Stop what are you doing!?"
Then, TK started to scream in agony. His whole body caught fire. Kari pleaded for him to stop coming but he wouldn't listen.
"TK!! TK!!!"
TK's screams became louder as his skin started to melt right off his body. Kari's saw a pool of blood form around his smouldering figure and start to boil on the floor.
"TAKERU!!!!!!"
TK's screamed finally stopped after what seemed like an eternity, and the fire disappeared, but all that was left were ashes.
"Takeru.." Kari managed to choke out his name through her tears. She lowered her head and sobbed, alone in the darkness once again.
Ken and Jesi walked hand in hand through the digital world. It was a bright sunny day and Ken was so happy to be with her for the afternoon.
Jesi breathed in the fresh air. "Ken it smells so nice here, it must be all the flowers."
"They don't compare to you," Ken said softly.
Jesi leaned her head against his shoulder and Ken blushed a bit. She slipped her arm around his and he rested his hand on her shoulder.
It was another perfect day in the Digital World, Ken always felt things were perfect when he was around her. But then Ken heard a small sound in the distance and glanced up.
"Jesi do you hear that?" He asked her.
"Hmm?"
Ken heard the sound again, only it was a bit louder this time. He turned towards the origin of the sound but didn't see anything.
"Jesi don't you hear that? It sounds like someone yelling."
"Ken why don't we go for a walk around the lake?"
Ken looked down at her and slipped his arm out of her grasp. He started walking through the forest.
"Ken come back! Don't leave me all alone!" she called after him. As Ken walked he could hear her rustling through the woods after him.
Jesi caught up and stood near him. She put her arms around his arm and clutched his shirt sleeve.
"Come on Ken, lets not go over there."
"But I'm sure I can hear someone calling for help." Ken kept walking, dragging her along because she wouldn't let go of him. Ken reached a clearing in the woods and saw a rocky cliff in front of them.
He looked up and froze when he saw the other Digidestined tied to poles at the top. Davis, Yolei, Kari, TK and Cody had their hands tied around large wooden stakes.
"Oh no!" Ken yelled. He then saw a huge fiery Meramon rise up behind each Digidestined.
"Ken save us!" he heard them plead, but Ken's feet were stuck in place. Jesi tugged at his arm.
"Come on Ken, let's go.." she said.
"What!? Don't you care about them? We have to do something to help!" Ken tried with all his might to move towards them but he could not.
"Ken!" he heard them cry. Then their cries of help changed to shouts of anger.
"Ken how could you!?" he heard Yolei yell at him
"Wha...What?" Ken stuttered.
"It's all your fault Ken!" Cody yelled.
"You did this to us, you're the one to blame." TK said.
"But.." Ken could feel tears forming in his eyes. "I didn't mean it! I swear it's not my fault!" He yelled.
"It is your fault Ken!" Kari shouted.
"Everything is your fault, you let us down!" Davis said to him.
"No..." Ken collapsed onto his knees. Then he saw each laughing Meramon light fire to the poles.
"STOP!!!!" Ken screamed.
"Ken, don't worry about them they don't matter." Jesi said calmly.
"No... No!! I need to help them!!"
The fired burned down the poles and each Digidestined went up in flames. He could still hear them shouting accusations at him as they burned up.
Hot tears poured out of Ken's eyes and he pounded the soft dirt with his fists.
Then the Meramon began growing larger. They combined into one giant ball of fire and came down towards Ken.
Ken looked up and saw the flaming mass coming down at him. He stood up and grabbed Jesi's arm and started to run as fast as he could through the woods.
"Ken where are you going?" She said.
"We need to get away!!"
"That's all you can do Ken... run"
Ken stopped and looked back at her. Her grey eyes were now red with hate.
"You always run away from your problems Ken, because you're afraid of the truth."
"What is the truth?"
Her evil grin faded and she swung her foot up and kicked Ken in the face. He fell back and slammed down to the ground.
"The truth is that it IS your fault Ken!! It's all your fault!"
"No... NOOOOOO!!! I DIDN'T MEAN IT!!"
"You're lying!" She kicked Ken in the stomach and blood spurted out of his mouth. "All our friends are dead and it's your fault..."
"It's not... my fault..." he sobbed.
Salty tears mixed with blood on Ken's pale face as the candle that was the Digital world burned out.
