Wow! This story turned out to be a little longer than I thought! I'm just about done with it now, though, so it should be all finished by Christmas. After that, episode 5 will be well on its way to the production table. However, since I have a life outside of this, I'ma hold off on puttin' up number 5 until after my holiday, which (thanx to not being in college and to the fact that Christmas isn't a national holiday in Japan) is a lot shorter than it used to be…
Dawn was quickly on its way, but the sky was still dark for the most part. James pulled his jacket tighter around himself. Realizing how cold he was dry, he suddenly felt guilty about throwing Matthew in the lake. But he didn't have any other choice. Thinking about his brother's condition prompted him to walk a little bit faster. After fifteen minutes of walking, he finally found a convenience store that was open all night and sprinted towards it. Ten minutes later, he was on his way back to the inn with a box of flu medicine. He had decided against walking and jogged back to the inn.
Something caught his eye; he looked upwards and saw a large dark thing flying through the air. James thought that it was a rather large bird, but that thought was quickly followed by the realization that it was wintertime; most, if not all, birds had gone south already. He came to his senses and realized that it was Thomas, flying across the skies, searching for his victims. He turned around and ran as fast as he could. He had to think fast.
Meanwhile, at the inn, Matthew had finally woken up to a freely running nose. He hastily stuffed Kleenexes in both nostrils and sat up in the bed, feeling miserable. Wesley was in the bathroom, looking for more Kleenex for Matthew. He was genuinely concerned for his brother; since they had all known each other, Wesley could only remember himself getting into situations like this. He was always the one who was in trouble and needed to be saved. He felt sorry for Matthew; he felt guilty that he wasn't the one who was thrown in the water. He would give everything to see Matthew feeling better.
"Matt," he said, "Jimmy went to the store to get you some medicine. Just hang on a little longer. You still cold?"
"Yeah," Matthew croaked through a hoarse voice. "Are you okay? You seem down."
"Save your voice," Wesley said. "I'm fine. I'll go look for some more blankets. You need anything else?"
"A beer," Matthew mumbled.
"Seventeen," Wesley answered, reminding Matthew that he was only seventeen and grossly underage. "Just stay there. Don't go anywhere."
"Like a rock," Matthew replied. "Be careful."
Wesley walked out of the room cautiously, checking every corner for signs of Thomas. When he felt that no one else was around, he walked hurriedly to the front desk, located in another building nearby. Matthew tried to go back to sleep, but his throat was so dry that he couldn't bear it any longer. Slowly, he eased out of the bed and went into the bathroom for a drink of water. Suddenly he heard a soft, but audible cracking noise. He could sense that trouble was on the way and he didn't want to take any chances. He picked up the Book of Light and headed straight for the door. Before he could get there, it swung open and there stood Thomas, much to Matthew's dismay. Despite the almost overwhelming feeling of weakness in his body, Matthew still managed to gather enough strength and kick Thomas in the leg. He dropped the Book and grabbed Thomas' arm, throwing him across the room. As he picked up the Book and headed for the door, Thomas was already picking himself up. Matthew turned around and went straight for him. One well placed punch to the chest sent Thomas crashing through the bathroom door. Matthew held the Book tightly and staggered out of the room, not wishing to stay any longer.
James was still running away from a flying Thomas. He saw a dark alley and ran into it, hoping that the darkness would conceal him long enough to think of something to do. He leaned against a wall and slowly slumped to the ground, exhausted. Suddenly, an energy ball came at him at an amazing speed. He barely dodged it, but managed to do so nevertheless. The attack left a burning hole in the wall where it hit. James jumped to his feet and saw Thomas grinning slyly at him.
"Missed you by that much," Thomas remarked, gesturing with his fingers. "This time, you won't be so lucky."
Thomas let loose another energy ball from his hand. Before it hit James, however, everything seemed to slow down, like someone had threw everything into slow motion. James looked around; he seemed to be the only one unaffected. He didn't waste any time, though. He moved out of the energy ball's path and telekinetically reflected it back towards Thomas. It hit its new target head on and Thomas was knocked out of his slow-motion state as he flew thirty feet backwards. James felt a hand grab the back of his shirt and he turned to see the last person he imagined he would.
Wesley was carrying some blankets back to the room when he saw that the door was open. He didn't remember leaving it open. Immediately panicking, he ran into the room to find it completely trashed. The bathroom door was in pieces, debris was everywhere, but more importantly, nobody was inside, or so he thought. In his haste to examine everything, he missed Thomas in the bathroom, who caught him by surprise.
Thomas charged Wesley and before Wesley could assess the situation, he found himself suddenly being forced through the front door. The only thing that went through his mind at that point was the enormous pain from crashing through a door. Thomas grabbed his shirt and threw him back into the room. He landed on the floor with a thud, covered in debris. Thomas walked to Wesley and kicked him while he was still down, laughing when Wesley groaned in pain.
"Does it hurt?" he taunted. "Don't worry. I'll finish you quickly. You're no real threat to me anyway. You're just a weakling."
"Weakling?" Wesley asked, still clutching his stomach.
That word seemed to fuel him and he grabbed Thomas by the ankles, pulling him to the ground. He kicked Thomas in the stomach, wanting him to feel the same way that he had felt earlier. Thomas caught his foot, twisted it, and threw him into the bathroom. Wesley came out of the bathroom to see Thomas standing there, waiting for him to attack. He brought his fist forward as hard as he could, but Thomas only caught it with the greatest of ease. He slowly squeezed Wesley's fist in his own hand as he towered over him, laughing all the while.
"See what I mean?" he said. "You're no match for me. But I have work to do. I'm done playing around here."
With his free hand, Thomas punched Wesley in the chest, knocking him over the bed and into a far wall. He produced an energy ball and was about to throw it when Matthew arrived, panting and out of breath. He stood between Wesley and Thomas and glared at Thomas fiercely. He was still holding onto the oversized Book of Light.
"Freeze him!" Matthew said as loud as he could.
Thomas had already thrown the energy ball. It stopped in midair just as Wesley froze the room. This time, Thomas froze along with the energy ball, much to Wesley's relief. Matthew assumed a batter's pose, holding the Book like a bat, and swung it mightily at the energy ball. The Book of Light was enchanted to repel anything evil, so when it hit the frozen projectile, it bounced back at Thomas with such force that it all seemed to happen in the blink of an eye.
The energy ball struck Thomas in the chest, knocking him out of suspended animation, and outside the room. He hit the ground hard. Sparks were surging across his body as if he had been shocked intensely. Wesley quickly ran to Matthew, who had collapsed in a chair that had managed to remain intact.
"You okay?" Wesley asked. "Where did you go? I got back and saw this!"
"He was here," Matthew said softly. "We need to get out of here."
Argh! Stupid Tom is ruining everything for the brothers, especially poor Matt! How will they get out of this alive? And who was that person James saw who he couldn't believe? If it ain't fairly obvious, here's what's coming up next: James finds out who the mysterious person is, while Wesley and Matthew try to recover from the latest attack. Y'all (more like Raya) don't wanna miss it!