RAINBOW CONNECTION
by Newly Human
Synopsis: Kaia has found Zack. But can she get him back? Through it all, Logan can't help but remember... Friendship, intrigue, action, and most importantly… hope.
Timeline: The following takes place in between seasons 1 and 2.
Disclaimer: Dark Angel the series and all it's characters belong to Fox, Cameron/Eglee Productions and other respective owners. I don't mean to infringe so please don't sue. Kaia Kilbourne and the plot are mine.
Author's Note: Thanks for everyone's reviews. I didn't realise how much I missed getting them. "Welcome back!" to the returning readers – I'm so glad that people are still interested – and "Hello!" to new readers who have just joined us. Sorry, yet again, for the long wait. It's getting harder and harder to find the time to write and I don't want to just throw something together for the sake of getting a new chapter up. Thanks for all the words of encouragement. Enjoy! -- Newly Human
CHAPTER 13
Abandon
Krit glanced at his watch. Syl and Kaia should both be out by now. He began to worry that something had gone terribly wrong. To make his paranoia worse, every so often Krit's eyes would – with the help of some powerful pain medication – play tricks on him. He would look just beyond the trees and see Syl's figure staggering slowly towards them, fatally wounded, or Kaia walking steadily, but followed closely behind by a group of enemy X5s. When this happened, Krit would close his eyes briefly, blink a few times, and then the image would change back into an empty forest. He had been sitting in that SUV, staring at the unmoving trees, for far too long. Honestly, his butt was getting numb.
Beside him, Logan was still working quietly on a laptop. He periodically checked the status of the security monitors and kept an ear out for any communication from the girls. His main focus however, stayed on her. Logan couldn't go for longer than a few moments without needing to see her face, her beautifully dark eyes. It was probably because he was so close to Manticore, a place that she had hated with every fibre of her being, a place Logan had come to hate because it would be her final resting place.
The thought fell into Logan mind, and for the first time he didn't deny it. On the other hand, he would never fully accept it either. A girl had died. And that was passable, because she was always nameless. Logan just couldn't bring himself to breathe her name. It seemed like it was the only thing left to hold on to. If he said it aloud it may be taken away from him…
Logan switched back to monitoring the security feeds and joined Krit in waiting for Syl and Kaia's return. From the corner of his eye, Logan noticed Krit start to shift in his seat, trying to get into a more comfortable position. Krit stopped immediately and grunted in pain.
"Are you ok?"
Krit tried to nod, but the movement had triggered sharp spasms; stemming from his abdomen and rippling out throughout the rest of his body. The pain was obvious on his face.
"The painkillers are probably starting to wear off. Try not to move, "Logan instructed, "We'll be out of here soon."
Suddenly, the communications link sparked to life and Kaia's voice could be heard trying to come through.
"… Log--…… there? I… --ack…"
Logan scrambled to try to clear up the interference. He hadn't realised it had gotten so bad.
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"What?" Logan's voice crackled through the earpiece. The static cleared a little.
"It's Zack." Kaia said a little louder.
There was quiet in her ear as Logan registered the news. "He's alive?"
In response Kaia closed her eyes and concentrated. She reached into Zack's room with her mind. Her thoughts explored, stretching like a spider web weaving around the room. She was searching for a familiar feeling. Anything.
But she found nothing.
"No." She finally answered through the link. "I can't feel him."
Kaia looked around, trying to understand what they were doing to him.
"It looks like their harvesting his organs." She relayed to Logan, a silent tear running down her cheek. "But he's gone. The Zack I knew isn't there."
She was still staring through the glass at Zack's body when Syl came running down the hall a moment later.
"Kaia!" She hissed in an urgent tone. "We need to go!"
She reached Kaia and stopped to catch her breath for a second. Literally, that's all it took.
"I've been trying to get through to you. My comm's been out." She rushed, obviously in a hurry.
Kaia broke her gaze and turned to Syl. She hadn't heard about Zack.
"They're on to us." Syl continued, oblivious to Kaia's expression, "We've got to go now!"
Kaia opened her mouth, not sure how to break the news. It didn't matter, because at that moment Syl glanced through the glass.
A moment of confusion crossed Syl's face. She stepped closer to get a better look through the window and her eyes widened.
"It's Zack!"
Syl tugged at the doorknob. It was no use. The door was locked and built with transgenics in mind.
Kaia tried to stop her. "That's not Zack… He's not there anymore." Syl wasn't listening.
Just then, Kaia heard Logan's voice in her ear. "Kaia! Unfriendlie--…" His voice was replaced with static.
"Logan?" Kaia pressed her earpiece deeper to try to get a better sound. "Repeat that?"
Logan responded with more static. "…seven… to your posit--… now!"
It was time to get out of there.
Syl was still trying to open the door, getting more and more desperate.
"Syl listen to me!" Kaia yelled, attempting to turn Syl to face her.
Syl just ignored her. She switched positions to put her full bodyweight into her shoulder and charged the door.
"Zack is dead!"
Even though she was the one to have spoken, the impact of those words hit Kaia hard. 'Dead… dead… dead…' echoed harshly down the hall.
They had just as much an effect on Syl and she stopped.
Kaia took this moment to grab her arm and pull her away. "Come on!"
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Back at the SUV, Logan and Krit sat intently listening in on a conversation between the X5's on patrol. The constant interference in the air was making any kind of communication between Syl and Kaia almost impossible. Logan had sped to find another way to reach them. In his search he had inadvertently come across the radio frequency used by the patrol guards. A one in a million chance… It was pure luck.
They needed a little bit of luck right about now.
Logan had been able to catch the tail end of one X5 guard relaying the position of two unidentified females last seen in the vicinity of the Observation Wing. A total of seven X5's responded to the call and were headed towards Kaia and Syl. Logan mentally crossed his fingers, hoping that Kaia had heard his warning.
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Syl and Kaia burst out through the side door of the science facility. They dove into the nearest bush and headed deep into the forest surrounding Manticore.
With Syl's advanced speed she quickly disappeared out of sight. Behind her, Kaia ran as hard and as fast as she could. Blood pumped intensely to her heart. Her arms flailed wildly at her sides. She had never been a graceful runner, and now was not the time to change that. Kaia stumbled and tripped, landing roughly on her hands and knees. She scrambled back onto her feet, then started running wildly again.
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"They've found a way to re-reroute all their feeds." Logan told Krit, dejection in his voice. "The security monitors are fixed, and I don't have control over them anymore."
"It doesn't matter," Krit managed to speak through heavy breathing. The pain was worsening. He indicated to the radio and the conversation he had just overheard. "They've swept the entire building. Syl and Kaia must already be out."
"That's a good sign." Logan nodded. He tried to sound reassuring, but wasn't exactly convincing Krit… or himself for that matter.
In the distance they could hear sirens from the science facility, and the sounds of military getting organised. They both knew that very soon soldiers would be roaming all over the woods.
Krit and Logan both silently hoped that Syl and Kaia could get back before the soldiers caught up to them.
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She ran.
Syl had to get as far away from that place as possible, as if it were some kind of disease. It was a virus, dirty and devious. And it spreads. It had killed her loved ones; the people she had teased and laughed with, the ones she saved her special smile for. Syl felt like she hadn't smiled in years…
Zack is dead.
The words continued to pound in her ears. She didn't want to think. She ran.
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After a while Kaia's lungs were burning and her legs were pumping out of sheer autonomy. She had to stop. Kaia forced herself to slow down and wobbled dizzily towards a large tree. Steadying herself against the trunk, she rested her forehead on the rough bark and squeezed her eyes shut tight. Kaia held her breath several times, trying to stop herself from hyperventilating. Her head would not stop spinning.
When she started to feel steadier on her feet and her breathing slowed down, she opened her eyes. Kaia stood there for a moment, staring down at the lab coat she was still wearing. The white material reflected in the moonlight and it shone brightly. Kaia might as well have been a beacon; any soldier in the area would have no problem seeing the white glow.
Feeling like a flashing idiot, she quickly pulled the coat off. The dark clothes Kaia had on underneath – the ones she borrowed from Logan, or rather, Logan's female friend – blended her effectively into the shadows. Kaia remembered to retrieve the Nemacol before stowing the coat under a nearby shrub. She pocketed the vials and, with a relieved sigh, told herself to start moving again.
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Only as Syl neared the edge of the clearing where the SUV was parked, did she finally slow down. She paced around, catching her breathe, breathing in the cool night air. Suddenly realising something, she stopped. In all her attempts to avoid thinking she had forgotten one very important thing. Actually… a person…
Kaia. Syl had left her behind.
It had slipped her mind that Kaia wouldn't be able to keep up with her X5 speed. Syl was disgusted with herself. She had done the one thing she could never forgive herself for doing. Abandoned a sister.
Syl swiftly turned and headed back they way she had come.
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All this waiting was putting Logan on edge. He looked outside at the forest around them and felt a sudden sense of déjà vu. The air was still, no wind around. The moon glowed in the sky, casting a soft light that reflected on the front of the car… just like it had a few nights ago.
He had been waiting, full of worry, just as he was now. Logan closed his eyes and the scene played over in his mind, as if he were watching a movie. He remembered how things had gone so terribly wrong.
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Kaia ached all over. When she had tried to run again her body screamed in pain, so she was forced to move at a slower pace. Kaia drifted carefully around in the shadows, ducking in and out between trees, using whatever cover she could find. She moved swiftly, but quietly. Her heart was still beating hard in her chest; the result of all the running around as well as an unexpected feeling of exhilaration. All that oxygen must have gone to her head.
The excitement quickly turned to fear when Kaia heard heavy footsteps approaching.
She immediately crouched down behind some thick foliage and pulled out the gun Logan had given her earlier. Never having fired a gun before, she held it tentatively, not quite sure how to handle it. The footsteps continued to come closer. Kaia held her breath and hugged the handgun to her chest, hoping that whoever it was would just pass her by.
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Syl headed quickly back to Kaia. She pulled out her gun, ready in case she happened to come across anyone unfriendly.
As she jogged, Syl couldn't avoid thinking, no matter how hard she tried. She would beat herself up – if it were physically possible – for leaving Kaia like that. How could she have left her behind? What kind of a sister did that make Syl? What kind of person?
Syl was always so hard on herself – Krit was forever telling her that – but she couldn't help it. Leaving someone behind felt… disgraceful.
Before she knew it her thoughts were brought back to Zack…
In her heart Syl knew that Zack was gone. She had seen the monitors in Zack's room. His body was alive, but he was brain dead. Without brain activity he could never be who he was.
Still, part of her felt like she had abandoned her brother there… again. Tears trickled down her face. She should have tried harder to get his body out, away from them.
Syl sniffed and composed herself, wiping the tears from her cheek with her gunless hand. Zack wouldn't want her to be like this. He would scold her for dwelling on something so pointless. We pay our respects, and we go on with the mission. What was the mission that Zack had given all of them? To be free…
Syl paused. She looked ahead through the trees and to what lay beyond.
Silently, she said her goodbyes.
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BANG!
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Logan and Krit turned to the sound of gunshot. It seemed so close that the echo resonated around them. In a second they were both opening their car doors to get out. With the wound in Krit's side he didn't get far. Logan was already across the clearing when Krit let out a roar of agony and fell to the dirt floor.
"Krit!" Logan rushed back to help him.
Krit clutched at his stomach as fresh blood seeped through the bandages. He struggled to sit up, but that made the torment worse and he cried out again.
"Don't move!" Logan urged, bending to help him.
"Go…" Krit managed to groan through clenched teeth.
Logan was trying to stop Krit as he attempted to sit up again. "What? Don't talk. Just lie down…"
Krit breathed and spoke again, more clearly this time, but more painfully too.
"Syl… Kaia… Go…"
Logan hesitated.
"GO!"
Krit pushed Logan away, making him fall back. Logan looked at Krit's face, full of pain and determination, then he got to his feet and broke into a run.
Author's Note: Did I do too much jumping between characters? Please let me know what you all think about the story. And don't be afraid to criticise, I won't mind. In fact, I insist upon it :-). -- Newly Human
© August 2004 NHmedia