In Love and Trust
Author's Note: Alright, maybe it's good if you tell me how impatient you are.....OO Honest, I don't think I should lag behind on the updating stuff, either.... Okay, enough of my jabbering, and it's the twenty-second chappie! Wow, it's really growing, and growing, and growing, and growing, and growing, and I am pretty happy, I guess.
All I can say, is that everything has just been piling up, and I know it's not nice to make people wait, but I just couldn't get to work on it somewhat. It must be a writer's block. Hm, I see..........Eh heh, that's embarrassing.
Nevertheless, I thank you for reminding me.
The song from last time was wrong, it was Moments, by Ayumi Hamasaki
wolfling! Wow, guess what? You're my 100th reviewer! And, my first one too! Thank you!
Disclaimer: I, Candide Avedo do not own anything that has to do with Beyblade.
Arrival
"Get the old woman before me, right this instant."
"Rightey 'o', sir."
"Lose the 'o', Vince."
"Alrighty, boss."
"Wait-"
"Sir?"
"Damn it, just get her."
A puff of smoke arose from a cigarette, clouding the man's vision. It was time, and he was definitely pulsing with unrestrained excitement. He had carefully planned everything out in detail, right to the smallest possibility where something could go wrong. He had sent Vince and Greg to track them down, making sure they had no way of backing out. It was in frangible. There was no way he would screw this up. He had been waiting for almost a decade, and he's not going to stop for anything, or anyone.
Stumbling into the room, the old woman glared at him spitefully. Her hair was dishevelled, and her eyes were hollow and baggy. The long, cotton dress that she wore was no longer the beautiful shade of lavander as it once was, but is now stained with mud, and oil. The man who had sent her in grabbed her forearms, forcing her to get closer to their boss.
"Old woman, do you still think that they have a chance?" the man asked coldly, and puffing smoke in her face.
The old woman met his eyes, looking vicar, holding in the cough that was threatening to surface. "What will come will come, I assure you, everyone will get what they deserve."
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"Tyson, hurry up, we don't have time for this!" cried Hilary, banging on the bathroom. "What are you doing in there, anyways?"
Muffled sounds echoed in the room beyond. Hilary groaned, and stamped her feet, unable to wait any longer. She took a second glance at the wall clock in their room, indicating that it was well half past nine. They had all woke up early, except for them, who had seemed to have overslept. The first ones to wake up were King and Queen, and then Ray, Kai, and Max, who all took an early shower.
"We still need to go out for brunch!" Only silence replied this time.
"ARGHH!"
"What's going on this time?" asked Kenny, who had poked his head in the room. "Everyone's waiting, hurry up, or were going to leave!"
"Tyson!" shouted Hilary, banging on the door. "Hurry up, or you won't have brunch! Do you want to go hungry-"
The door suddenly opened, and a white, blue, red and yellow blur ran past them.
Kenny and Hilary exchanged looks.
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"Hurry up, you three took up lots of time as it is." grunted King, who had been waiting out the limo for them. He was serious, well, definitely more serious than last time. It was clear that the tension was definitely on.
"Sorry, King, but some people-" Hilary glared at Tyson, "take too long."
"What?" said Tyson innocently. "You were the one who flushed the toilet, and made the water cold!"
"Come on, just get in already!"
No one had spoken all throughout the journey to town, in where they would be having breakfast. King had directed driver had been to go as fast as he can, only to be bombarded by questions as to why they had to, seeing as they were taking a short brunch, and it was only quarter to ten. It had been clearer later, as many tourists flooded the streets now, making it harder for them to avoid traffic.
"That was scary, I have never seen so many people here, it's like they popped out of nowhere!" said Max, crouching low on his seat, twiddling his thumbs, as they looked for a parking spot in a local restaurant. "We've been driving for at least half an hour, and we didn't even go as far as four kilometres!"
"Yeah, well, you shouldn't be surprised, it's tourist season here. At this time it takes twice the usual time to get from one place to another." explained Kenny, looking at a crowd of people heading for the same restaurant.
"Uh, can we go park anywhere, I'd hate to miss out on the food." said Ray, rubbing his stomach. He looked at the others, hoping they would feel the same. He was almost right, except for the other three, Kai, King, and Queen, who, as always, looked impassive.
They had gotten then there just in time before the large group of tourists had wandered in, and were seated at a round table, with seats that were ready for eight people. Not letting their server leave, they quickly ordered some quiches, Cretan Kalitsounia ( sweet cheese pastries ) , ciabatta veggie sandwiches, and some veal rolls.
Everyone had been eating slowly, but King had barely touched his own food.
"Hey, King?" called Tyson, across the table, and King looked up. "Are you going to eat that?"
"Tyson..." muttered Hilary.
"Ow, what was that for?"
"For being greedy."
"You've got to eat, you know, King, it's gonna be okay, remember?" said Queen, expressionlessly, but her eyes were smiling.
King nodded, taking a glance at Kai, who had refused to look in their direction. He took a bite, soaking in the warmth. She was feeling better, and he was glad. Kai he could deal with later. King watched the others eat for a while, the realization finally hitting him. They weren't alone anymore.
"King, are you eating, or do I have to do it myself?"
"I'm eating, I'm eating."
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"Do you think this is you know, necessary?"
"Shut up, Vince, we need to make sure that they don't get there in time. Besides, don't you want a share in that fortune?"
"Yeah, but I thought the whole plan was to stop them at the monastery?"
"That's plan B, now hurry up, they eat really fast, especially, that kid with the blue hair."
"Okay, I'm cutting it....There. Done."
"Did you cut the whole thing completely?"
"Yes, Greg, jeez, you could have done it yourself if you wanted to."
"Nah, I was never good with the wires."
"Oh, well, are we finished?"
"Yes, good job, Vince, quick, here comes the driver."
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"Okay, King, you pay the bill, and then we'll be off." said Queen, rising up from her seat, the others following suit. She stole a peek at Kai, who met her eyes briefly, sending her a comforting stare, and making her blush. "Okay, then, let's go."
King frowned. "I'll meet you at the car." His sister never blushed before. Well, not in front of him at least. He didn't want her to know that he over heard them last night, but he wants to know what Kai was up to.
"So how long until we get there?" asked Ray, walking down a stone path to where the limo had been waiting. "I mean, will we even get there in time? There's so much traffic."
"When we get out of town the traffic goes away." said Queen, spotting their Fred leaning against the limo, waiting for them to arrive. "It should take us about a couple of hours or so."
"Are we leaving now, Miss Queen?" Fred asked, opening the door, and the others piled inside.
"We are, but King's just paying the bill, he's gonna be here soon." Queen waited for all of them to get on before getting in herself.
"Aw, we're in here again?" whined Hilary, plopping herself next to Kenny. "I'm getting carsick from all of the traffic."
"What do you suggest, walk?" said Tyson, across from her. Hilary ignored him.
"So, Kai, why so quiet?" asked Max, curiously, as Kai silently moved to where he sat a while ago. "I mean, you've only spoken, like a couple of words since this morning."
"I'm just tired, Max, you just worry about surviving the day." Kai answered, smirking. Max paled. Everyone bit down a laugh, even Queen. Kai grinned to himself. She was at least better than the last time, although whenever he gets close to her, she was the one who always held back, like she was afraid of something.
Queen felt lighter, as she laughed along with the others. Laughter is a good medicine indeed.
"Hey, I'm back, let's go, Fred." said King, who had finally joined them. Queen moved over, so they were all spaced evenly, and weren't so crowded.
As it turned out, Queen had been right, and soon, the crowds had almost fully cleared as they neared the outskirts of the town. The sun had fully risen now, but thankfully, they had air conditioning.
They were suddenly tilting upwards, and they climbed up to the top of a hill, which over looked the town. Soon they were heading downwards, descending in a steady pace, careful not to slide on the muddy road.
Halfway down, their vehicle gave a rough jolt, and the limo had picked up speed, letting gravity pull them down. They felt the wheels slip, and slide, losing control.
"What the-What's happening?!" shouted Ray, as they instinctively held on.
"I don't know what happened, but I sure as hell know it's not good!" said Tyson, gripping on the seat tightly, as the limo failed to slow down.
"I don't like this, I don't like this, I don't like this." repeated Kenny, fighting the urge to panic.
"Everyone, hold on!" shouted Kai.
"No need to tell me twice." said Queen, clenching her eyes tight, as they felt the limo level with the ground, yet still hadn't slowed down.
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
"OMG, we're gonna die!" cried Hilary.
The limo swerved sharply to the left as Fred tried to regain control over the steering wheel, but the speed, lenght, and weight of the vehicle made it almost seem impossible. It almost tilted over as it flew to the right, and lights from an oncoming car quickly dodged them to avoid impact. The limo had run onto the side of the road, into the many bushes, narrowly missing tree trunks.
PSH, PSH
Two sounds of air being let out followed. With a final leap, the limo fell into a small ditch, almost falling to it's side.
The whole time, the group had been trying to keep their grips on where they were, but when they fell into the ditch unexpectedly, they all were tossed roughly from their positions.
All were speechless, but only for a few minutes.
"Hey, is everyone okay?" came King's voice, from somewhere above them.
Moans indicated that they weren't hurt, or, at least, not too badly.
"What happened, anyway?" asked Max, who sounded muffled. The were no sounds of traffic, but few birds that were nearby.
"We should worry about that later, for now we should focus on getting out of here." said Kenny, somewhere to the left. "Whoever's closest to the door should try to open it."
"I think I'm the closest." said Queen, sounding far away. "Hang on, you guys." She held on to some of the chairs for support, and grabbed the door handle. Then, using her shoulder to push, she finally had it open. She opened it all the way, hoping it would stay open so she could start helping the others out.
"Did you do it?" asked King, struggling from the weight of someone pressed tightly against him.
"Yeah, hang on, I'm coming." called Queen, pulling on Kenny's hand, who had been the closest. "Kenny, come on, grab my hand."
"Yeah, I'm trying." Kenny answered, and with a few tugs, he was free. Next to come was Hilary, who was on top of Max, who was beside Ray. Kai and King were crunched over at the side. Once they were all back on their feet again, they checked out their surroundings.
"We're far from the main road, aren't we?" said Hilary, leaning on the tilted limo. "Great, just great, what are we going to do now?"
"I don't know." came Kenny, but he became distracted as a figure appeared beside them.
"Mister, King, Miss Queen, I am so sorry, I had no idea." Fred said, emerging from the driver's side, looking very upset. "There must have been a problem with the limo, but I was sure it was fine this morning."
Everyone just stared, trying to figure out what might have happened.
"Fred, did you leave the limo anytime today while we were gone?" asked Kai, walking over to the front of the limo, and getting on his hands and knees.
"Well, yeah, I had to go to the closest washroom, I really had to go." replied Fred, wondering what the young man could be thinking.
Kai then looked underneath the vehicle, carefully prodding around, just in case something might catch on fire. He emerged a few minutes later, wiping his hands on his pants.
"What is it, Kai?" asked Ray, walking over. "Did you find out anything?"
"Yeah." said Kai, clearly not pleased. "Our brakes were cut."
"What? What kind of a sick joke these tourists think they're doing?!" shouted Tyson, punching his hand. "I mean, we almost died!"
"No, I don't think tourists did it, and I think I have the same haunch as Kai does." said Queen tiredly. "They don't want us to get there in time, do they?"
"Or at least get hurt enough so we can't do anything once we get there." added King, holding up the key. "They really don't care who gets in the way as long as they get what they want."
"What are we going to do now, then?" asked Max, studying their surroundings. "Who knows how far we are from the main road, and how else are we going to get there?"
"Looks like our best chance it go hitch a ride." said Kenny, wiping the dirt off his glasses. "We can't just wait for the limo to get fixed, it'll take forever to contact some people, and for them to get all the way out here and find us. It's better if we all hitch a ride with a bus or something."
"Kenny's right." said Tyson. "We can follow the path where the limo went through, that should lead us back to where we first came though."
"Then we should hurry up right away." said King, and turned back to Fred. "Okay, Fred, I think we should take it from here, but you should call for help, I'm sure they'll come as soon as possible, just make sure you get out okay."
"Yes, mister King, and I hope you all make it in time." Fred replied, taking out a phone and dialling some numbers. "I will make sure that this will get fixed before the end of the day."
King nodded.
"Before we go, is everyone okay?" asked Tyson.
"It's a little too late to ask, Tyson, but I guess we're all fine." said Ray, as they began to walk up out of the small ditch, and through the flattened bushes, trying to keep track of where they had gone through.
It was all empty, and they definitely had to get out of there. Nobody knew what kind of animals live in this part of Greece.
They trudged on, going in a line. Tall trees towered over them, and occasionally a bird or two would fly overhead, which signalled the others to cover their heads just in case one decided to deposit it's waste at that particular moment.
"Any sign yet, Tyson?" called King, who was at the back, to Tyson, who had been in the lead. At least fifteen minutes had passed, and some of them were getting tired of dodging the large tree roots.
"Yeah, soon, real soon." came Tyson's reply.
"You better not have gotten us lost, Tyson, or we're all gonna want to ring your neck." mumbled Hilary, as she almost tripped over a vine that had been growing on the ground.
"Careful, Hilary." said Queen, pulling on her sleeve. Hilary smiled a thanks.
"That's not all what I'm gonna do if he does gets us lost." said Max, as a bush scratched at his arm.
"Ove there!" shouted Tyson, pointing to a place in the distance. "Do you see it?"
"See what?" asked Ray, peeking over his shoulder. "Sorry, Tyson, but all I see is green."
"No wait-Is that-Yeah! I can see it! It's the road!" said Max, happily quickening his pace.
"Great, I was beginning to doubt Tyson for a second there." panted Kenny, pausing to stop by a tree. "You go on, I'll just take a breather."
Tyson came up behind, giving a push. "Nonsense, Kenny, you can rest when we get a ride."
They reached the road where they had strayed out of, only to see that it had been completely empty. To their left was the hill they had gone down on, and to their right, was the road leading to a curve.
"Well, what now?" asked Max, staring at the deserted road. "How long is this going to take you think?"
"I think..." said King, over his shoulder. "The answer to our problems is just about to come."
There, coming down the hill, was a truck, carrying a large load of hay.
"Uh, this is what's going to save our hides?" asked Queen, in disbelief. "Where are we going to ride? On the top?"
"Yup." replied King simply, trying to wave the truck down. "This is the only thing that looks like it can hold all of us, or do you want to risk being late just because of waiting for another ride? Now come on, help me flag this thing down."
"Might as well, right? We're only hitching a ride." agreed Ray, and joined in, everyone except Kai.
The driver of the truck pulled up beside them, rolling down the window. He was about in his mid fourties, with greying hair, and squinty eyes. The man wore a jumper suit and a polo underneath, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. A faint smell of cigarettes wafted up to their noses.
"Ey, what you kids doing in the side o' the road like that?" he asked curiously, wandering his eye to each of their faces. "You lost o' something?"
Hilary stepped forward, smiling.
"Um, yes, sir, our mode of transportation has broken down, and we're kind of hoping you could give us a lift to the St. Stephen Meteora Monastery."
The man scratched his chin, where a small beard was currently forming.
"Well, I happen to be going in the same direction..." he paused, weighing his desicion.
"Please, sir, we are in a tight schedule, and we would really appreciate it." said Hilary, clasping her hands together. The others were silent, crossing their fingers behind their backs.
"Hm......"
"Please, sir?"
"......Oh, alright, hop on, but that is if you don't mind sitting on the hay." said the man, jabbing his thumb to the back. "I can sit two people at the front, though." he opened the door, waiting.
"Really, sir? Thank you!" grinned Hilary, grabbing Queen's hand. "I'm Hilary, and this is my friend Queen, and we really appreciate the lift."
They both got on the front seat, and shutting the door. The driver nodded, waiting for the rest of the group to get on. Once they were on, the driver took off.
"So," said the driver, who had been focussing on the road. "What brings you all to the outskirts of town?"
"Well......." began Hilary thoughtfully. "We..."
"We were going down the hill back there when the brakes failed to slow us down." finished Queen, who had been closest to the door.
"Oh.." the driver paused. "Well, these things happen. I'm Otis, by the way." he extended his hand, shaking each Hilary's and Queen's in turn.
"Nice to meet you, Otis, but is how long is it til we get there, at the rate we're going?" asked Hilary, checking her watch.
"At this this rate, lil missy, about an hour and a half. Maybe you and your lil friend can take a nap, you all look like you could use a good rest." Otis went around a sharp turn.
"Yeah, maybe we could."
Hours slipped by, and the six boys who had been sitting on top of the piles of hay had done nothing to do but watch the scenery.
Tyson, and Max had started a gave of 'I Spy', and were soon joined by Kenny and Ray. Kai and King only kept to themselves, occasionnally changing their seat positions. King had been itching to go up to Kai and ask him what he wanted, but now was not the time. There were better things to worry about.
Finally, after about twenty rounds of 'I Spy', a sign in Greek came into view, and King read it for them, saying that it wasn't long before they would get there.
"Wake up, lil missies, we're almost there." Otis called, turning a corner.
Hilary and Queen rubbed their eyes, just in time to see a large building, looming into view.
"Uh, is this it?" said Tyson blankly, watching it come closer. "I dunno, it looks kinda creepy from here."
"That's because it's deserted, Tyson." said Max, shaking his head.
"It's a tourist spot, I just don't get why there aren't any people." said King, as they stopped just in front of the entrance. "There usually is a lot of people. What time is it, Kenny?"
"It's only three thirty." answered Kenny, who was admiring the building which was around a hundred and sixty years old.
"It should be flooding with tourists at this time."
They got off, pulling some strands of hay from their clothes.
"You sure you're going to be okay?" asked Otis, as Hilary and Queen got out, still yawning. "It looks really quiet here."
"Yeah, thanks for the ride, saved us a lot of trouble, too." said Tyson, grinning.
"The name's Otis."
"Yeah, thanks, Otis."
"Thanks, Otis," echoed the group.
"No problem, kids, just stay out of trouble." he turned on the engine once more, and set off.
"Yeah, sure, stay out of trouble. He didn't know he took us right to it." said Tyson, stretching.
"This place looks deserted, though." said Queen, looking at the innocent looking front doors.
"That's exactly what I thought." said King, standing next to her.
"Well, are we going in or not?" asked Kai. He didn't like the whole atmosphere, but they had to get on with it, or they were not going to have much choices in the end.
The monastery it'self was not supposed to scare you, for the sun had bathed it in light. It was the whole fact of knowing that something was there, waiting for them, and yet seeing nothing which was the problem. The whole place looked normal, yet it has that foreboding feeling like you know something's not right.
"Does anyone know why it's so quiet?" asked Max, as they headed for the heavy looking wooden doors. "It's supposed to be a tourist spot like you said, but why is it so empty?"
"This answers your question?" came Kai's voice, pointing to a piece of paper, which had been tacked on the door.
"What does it say?"
Kai cleared his throat. "St. Stephen Monastery closed for renovations."
"Typical, they can't think of a better excuse." muttered King.
Ignoring the sign, they opened the door, taking small cautious steps. Inside was indeed looking like it was closed for renovations. the walls had been stripped bare, and the floors were covered in heavy dust from plaster. Their footsteps echoed, and all of them strained their ears to listen for anything out of the ordinary.
"You know, I'm getting kinda tired of this kind of thing." said Tyson, feeling bored. "I mean, it's always the same thing, right? I mean, the whole 'creepy' atmosphere, it's all the same, right?"
"Guys, I don't think that they're here." said Kenny uneasily, taking a step backward. The silence was very unnerving. Tyson perked up, taking in what Kenny had just said.
"But aren't they supposed to be here?"
"You know, come to think of it, I kind of agree, Kenny." said Ray, stopping beside Kenny. "You think we're supposed to look deepe-"
Before he could say anything else, however, the floor beneath them disappeared, sending them down what seems to be a never ending hole.
"AHHHH!"
The others whipped around, just in time to see Kenny and Ray's heads disappearing into the floor.
"Kenny! Ray!"
They all dashed to the spot where they supposedly had gone, only to see the floor restored back to it's original position.
"I don't like this, not one bit." said Hilary, her eyes wide. "Did you see that? I mean, they just fell, right through the floor!"
"We all saw, Hilary." said Tyson, looking horrified.
"It's like they knew we would go here!" said Max, moving quickly away from the floor.
"Duh, Max, they were the ones who told us to go here."
"It's like they're separating us apart." said Queen, with realization.
"Aw, shit." said Tyson, kicking his feet at a piece of rock. "They're going to try to separate us apart so it will be easier to get rid of us."
"That's wonderful." said Kai sarcastically. "We don't have any choice but to go on with it, we're stalling."
"Kai's right." added King, and he straightened himself up. "I just hope the others are fine. At least there's two of them."
"Yeah, let's just try to stick together, maybe we'll find them somewhere." said Hilary hopefully.
"That's it, Hilary, keep it up with the possitive thoughts, and who knows, they just might pop up somewhere." said Tyson.
They all knew that to stay alert, because who know what might come at them next.
C.A. Eep, I didn't know it had almost been a month already! Time really does fly by, but I haven't been having fun. :( I have so much homework, I already had four tests since the beginning of September. It really has been crazy. Well, right now, I'm sitting, here, at my comp, with, the sniffles. Yes, the sniffles. Ah well, I had to update, and I thank you repeatedly for reminding me so. Anyways, sorry, I know, enough of these apologies, but I know waiting's not fun.
Wow, I think the whole spacing thing's all figured out, that's at least a good piece of news!
I'm sorry if I can't incorporate all of the ideas, but I have to end this, before I lose the ending that I have planned in my head...I will keep them in mind, though...
Thank you again, and I'm sorry if this isn't as good as the other chappies.