Chapter 4
He woke painfully, slowly. His eyes opened to see dirt and grass gradually come into focus. He groaned and closed his eyes again. He ached all over, and a clammy damp clung to him. He opened his eyes again and gingerly pushed himself off the ground, looking around. It was just before dawn, the sky was a dull gray. He had run to a somewhat recognized neighborhood, probably not too far from home. He stood uncertainly and started walking. He still clutched his katana with his right hand. His muscles were tight and uncooperative, but he gradually fell into a rhythm, and soon the simple act of moving forward no longer took his full attention. His mind began to form a single thought: he wanted to see Cree.
He walked faster, his gait became an awkward, limping jog. He reached his home, entered the door, through the kitchen, living room, up the stairs, to his room. He eagerly opened the door to his room and—
Empty. No Cree.
He searched the room, almost frantically. He had been so sure she would be there. Finally, he sat on his bed. The same thought buzzed through his mind—he wanted to see Cree. He needed to....
He stood and left abruptly.
---
Climbing the tree to her bedroom was more challenging than usual; he was so sore from the hours spent in a dead faint on some stranger's lawn. But he struggled his way to her window, finally managing to balance himself on her windowsill. He knocked on the glass. He waited several moments then tapped the window again, more urgently. Still nothing. He squinted inside, pressing his face against the glass. Her bed was empty. She wasn't there.
He slumped, feeling suddenly crushed. Where could she be? He remained on the small ledge as the minutes passed, devoid of motivation. He didn't know what to do next. The sky was growing brighter; he heard a car pass nearby. People would start to wake soon, and wonder why there was a boy trying to break into the Lincoln house.
Once again on solid earth, Chad pondered over his next move. What now? Where was she? He was out of ideas.
Suddenly the side door opened and he heard Abby's voice saying, "I'll be there in a few minutes—"before stopping abruptly. She had seen him and was staring.
"Abby, do—"Chad began.
"Chad? What--?" she asked, surprised, then continued into her communicator, "I gotta go, I'll be there in a few." She stashed the device in her backpack and then turned to Chad.
"What happened to you?"
"I...fell. Do you know—"
"Those don't look like injuries you'd get from a fall," Abby commented.
"I'm fine," he insisted, self-consciously brushing away at the patches of dirt and mud caked on him. In doing so, he felt a pang, and he looked down in surprise to see himself covered not only in scabbed-over flesh wounds, but blistery burns as well. How did...?
"Maybe you should go and wash those off. It looks like they might get infected."
"I'll be okay, thanks. Do you know where Cree is?"
"I thought you said she was at your place," Abby answered quizzically.
"She was, but she's gone...."
"Well, I didn't see her, but maybe she's in her room," she suggested.
Chad shook his head sadly. "She wasn't there."
"Is that a sword?"
He looked down at the katana he still grasped in his hand. "Um...yeah."
Abby was staring at it oddly. Then she focused on his face with an expression of deep scrutiny.
Chad shifted his weight uncomfortably. "I think I will look for Cree inside," he said and headed for the door.
"Okay. Wait a sec."
He turned to see Abigail approaching.
"Take this." She placed something in his hand.
Chad stared at it. It looked like a peppermint, but was rather heavier and cold as ice. "Uh...thanks?" he glanced up at her, but she was already leaving.
She waved at him. "Be ca—" she began, then paused and changed her words. "Good luck." She then turned away and jogged off.
After another moment of perplexed staring, Chad pocketed the mint and entered the Lincoln home.
He went first to Cree's bedroom, but with little hope. As expected, she wasn't there. The bathroom was empty, as were the kitchens. Dr. Lincoln's door was closed, so he wisely left that alone.
Chad returned to her bedroom and flopped onto her bed. Where was she? He had a sudden idea, and pulling out his cell phone, dialed her number, wondering why he hadn't thought of that earlier. But then he jumped an instant later when he heard ringing close beside him. He sat up to see her cell phone abandoned on the nightstand. Sighing, he turned off his phone, as it was beeping annoyingly, informing him of the fifteen voice mail messages—all from his mom. So much for that brilliant idea.
He again let himself rest back down on her bed, staring at the window. He hated this feeling--wanting to find her and not knowing where she was. Was she safe? Was she angry at him? Was she avoiding him? He then realized he was feeling what she must have been feeling the past few days. Guilt and regret weighed down on him.
"I'm sorry," he murmured aloud.
Without intending to, his eyelids lowered and he drifted to sleep.
He stood at the familiar threshold, one foot on the light side, his other on the dark. He gazed into the dark, wondering. But he turned suddenly, feeling another presence. Cree. But she wasn't looking at him; she was staring past him. Staring at a pair of glowing eyes. He opened his mouth to shout for her attention—
Chad shuddered awake, heart racing. He pushed himself off the bed and stared at the clock. It was already midmorning.
He tore through the now empty Lincoln residence in the vain hope that Cree may have returned. How could he have been so foolish? How could he have forgotten in his desire to see her that he was supposed to be protecting her? If something had happened to her, he would never forgive himself.
He made a decision. Gripping his katana tight in his hand, he left the house.
---
Chad stared up at Sector V's Treehouse. It was one of those things that no one acknowledged--the massive treehouse, constructed from various odds and ends, as well as things one wouldn't expect to see: an ocean liner, subway cars. Chad looked at it as if for the first time, wondering why he never found its presence out of the ordinary before.
The hand that clutched his katana was shaking slightly. He knew what he came there to do. Whether he would be able to accomplish it was another thing. He was out of practice, and it would probably be a fight of one against five. Even though they were children, he didn't like those odds. They had, after all, defeated him more than once in the past.
Of course he could trick Nigel. Invent an idea to lure him out, alone. The boy would have no idea what he was planning.
But it was too underhanded. He could only enter openly and hope for the best. Or worst, rather.
An odd noise from above made him look up. The sound of an engine...? High above him, he saw a dark object plummeting in his direction, growing larger quickly as it approached.
Chad was too stunned to be afraid for his life as the thing landed, or rather, crashed, not too far from him. Now that he could see it clearly, he recognized it as a 2x4 technology space pod. He drew nearer tentatively as black smoke billowed from it.
The hull decompressed, and the hatch opened. He could make out the silhouette of a boy through the smoke. It was Nigel.
"This is my lucky day," Chad thought ruefully to himself.
The British boy staggered out of the pod, muttering, "Next time I'll remember to bring Numbuh Two to pilot this piece of junk—" He noticed Chad the moment he looked up, and stared, surprised for a moment.
"Chad. What are you do—" he began, then interrupted himself to ask, "Are you okay?" when he saw the state Chad was in.
"Damn it," Chad thought to himself, "why did he have to ask about my well-being? I'm here to kill him; why couldn't he have been suspicious and on his guard?"
But aloud he said nothing. He only walked up to Numbuh One and unsheathed his sword with unsteady hands.
Nigel's face expressed confusion for a split second, but soon seemed to grasp Chad's intent. He hunched down to gather himself in then leapt to avoid the teen.
Chad, however, was expecting this. He swung the katana, aiming for Numbuh One's foot. He managed to make a shallow cut.
Electricity crackled as the boy hit the ground, rolling in a somersault once or twice before regaining his bearings. He glanced down at his now useless rocket boot. Then frowned at Chad.
"Score one for me," thought Chad grimly. He then noticed the small trickle of blood from the boy's foot. His mouth opened in horror. "I'm sor—" he stared to say before stopping himself. He was there to do a lot worse than that.
But Nigel had heard him. He looked up at the other, meeting his eyes. "Chad, why are you doing this?" he asked in a composed tone, not at all the voice of a targeted murder victim.
He didn't answer, only stared back and tried to steel his countenance. He wished Numbuh One would attack him so he could fight back instead of taking the initiative. Maybe then he could....
Nigel was still trying to reason with him. "You don't have to do this. We were friends, don't you remember, Numbuh 274?"
Chad flinched at the mention of his Numbuh, and Nigel immediately realized it was the wrong thing to say. Whether Numbuh One jumped back into a handspring first or Chad made a wide swipe with his sword was impossible to tell. Chad barely missed the boy, but Nigel landed on his injured foot, and in the split-second that was lost when he faltered, in pain, Chad lunged at him, pinning the child to the side of the house.
Chad held the katana to the boy's neck. His breath came in ragged gasps, and his hands were sweating, loosening his grip on his sword. The adrenaline kick that braced his muscles and emptied his mind quickly wore off. Could he do this?
Nigel seemed bizarrely calm in comparison. He observed Chad coolly from over his shades, taking in slow breaths. He wasn't struggling; he had even stopped trying to reason with him. Chad found this strange, and rather unsettling. Why wasn't he fighting?
"I—I'm sorry, but I have to," stammered Chad, trying to gather the nerve to complete his mission. He had to. For Cree.
Cree.
Thinking of her suddenly triggered a moment of clarity. For an instant, it was almost as if he could feel her disapproving gaze on him. She would never want him to do this, not for her sake, no matter what the ultimate cost it would be for her. If he did this now, she may never forgive him. It may already be too late....
Chad's muscles relaxed and he slowly released Nigel, who, once free, finally allowed himself a moment of weakness as he took several wobbly steps away and knelt unsteadily to sit on the ground. He clutched at his neck.
Chad stuck the tip of his blade into the earth, and then dropped to the ground as well. He avoided looking at Nigel, who was watching him closely. Still not meeting the boy's eyes, he murmured, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have...."
Whether Nigel would have replied, Chad never found out, as he was plunged into an icy darkness that flooded his mind, blocking all other thoughts.
"I knew you would fail, you always were useless." Father's tone was disgusted.
Chad almost wanted to laugh at this. "Then I guess you won't be needing me for your missions anymore?" Dared he hope?
Father let out a low chuckle, which was never a good sign. "No, Chad, I won't be needing your services any longer."
Chad couldn't believe his ears. He was...free?
"Of course, that means our deal is off."
Deal...? But—Chad's waking nightmare was interrupted by a loud mechanical noise. Nigel snapped to action, running in the direction of the sound, and Chad followed suit.
Nigel's crashed space pod had jolted to life. They both stared, uncertain of what to make of this occurrence.
Until Chad saw who was inside.
She watched him with despondent eyes as her armor folded up to cover her face.
"CREE!" he tried to yell over the roar of the engines as it launched into space. In a second she was gone, a mere speck in the night sky.
He had lost her.
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author's notes: next chapter should be the last. i haven't drawn anything to go with this fic, like i did with "fallen"...maybe later when i have more time. i guess i'd have to post it on my profile page instead of in the story. trying to put links in the story never worked right for me anyways.