::eyes widen:: Whoa, this is weird. The last chapter got no reviews! That's a first. I guess I waited too long to write the chapters. ::Sweatdrops:: Sorry you guys. My chapters are getting longer though, so there's that. I hope that makes up for it a little bit. Well, here's chapter 8. I hope you guys like it.
Disclaimer: I still don't own Digimon, and frankly, I don't know who does. Who owns these huge profit animes anyway? Nobody knows who made them. At least, nobody I know.
Rika looked around her from side to side, seeing only alleys shrouded in darkness. She could see garbage blowing around in the street, wrapped in a somewhat ghostly air. Looked at the scene, she couldn't help but shiver at her feeling of déjà vu. She'd definitely been here before.
"Hello?" Rika called, walking down the deserted street. Her voice echoed against the shop walls, but no one answered her.
"Hey! Somebody answer me!" she shouted, spinning around. "There has to be someone here. I can't be the only person."
Then, as she walked by a particularly thin alley, something caught her eye. She turned her head slightly, then gasped and recoiled in horror. There, perfectly visible via the moon, was her, or her body at least. She could see blood drying on her shirt and skin, and she could see even more blood flowing across the ground from her open wound.
Rika's breath became heavy as she stared at her dying self. What was going on? Was she dead?
Then, a shadow fell over her, blocking out all of the moonlight. Rika spun around swiftly to see that boy she'd met with in the alleyway not long ago. In his hand was the same blade he's stabbed her with. A hideous smile lit his face, and he thrust the knife straight at her.
Rika awoke with a scream of horror, sitting straight up in bed. She held her blanket tightly to her chest, sweat pouring down her face and the back of her neck. She could feel her heart pounding against her ribcage, almost threatening to shatter the bones with the intensity of its beating. Her breath came at an irregular pace, interrupted only a few times with a gulp of fear.
She put her hand to her forehead, groaning, then lay back down.
'Why do I keep having these dreams?' she thought to herself, turning on her side and staring at the wall.
It had been two weeks since she'd returned from the hospital, and almost every night she would have horrible dreams and most of them were reoccurring. The one she'd just woken up from was one of them. Another dream she kept having was watching the doctors and nurses tag her and write down her time of death. He was in that dream too. He would be leaning on the doorway, smirking at her evilly.
Since she'd gotten home, she hadn't left her room. It wasn't because the doctors advised that she stay in bed either. Rika, being who she was, wouldn't listen to a doctor if she didn't want to. There was something deeper than that.
"Rika dear?" came the voice of her grandma through the paper walls. "Are you all right? Was that you screaming?"
Rika sighed. "I'm fine grandma." Rika replied quietly, covering her head with her blankets. She definitely wasn't the same Rika.
Several miles away, Ryo, Henry, Kazu, Kenta, Takato and Jerri were on lunch hour. All six of them sat outside on the school grounds beneath one of the trees, surrounded by their chatty classmates. Kazu, Kenta, Takato and Jerri were all particularly chatty, going about their business. Since Rika was at home and healthy, they hardly needed to worry.
Henry and Ryo however, had a different outlook on the situation. Both were staring off into space, not speaking or acknowledging anyone else. Ryo held his hands behind his head, leaning back against the tree trunk. A book sat untouched on Henry's knee.
"Henry? Ryo?" said Takato, startling both the boys to attention. "Are you guys okay?"
Henry nodded and gave the boy a forced smile.
"We're fine." Said Ryo, stretching his arms out above his head.
"You just seemed sort of…out of it." Takato pointed out.
"They're worried about Rika." Jerri interjected, turning around. "I can tell. A woman always knows."
"Yeah, you would know, wouldn't you Jerri?" asked Takato with a laugh. Jerri gave him a glare in return.
"Of course I would! I'm more of a woman that you'll ever be! …No…wait…" The couple quickly submitted to snickers, leaving both Henry and Ryo with large sweatdrops on their heads.
In truth, Jerri was actually dead on. Both of them had been thinking about Rika. They'd both gone to visit her, and neither was very happy with what he saw. She'd been very quiet and seemed very tired, barely able to balance herself and sit up straight.
They'd both tried to convince themselves that it was just because she was recovering, but someone, neither could quiet believe that. Even when she was injured, Rika always had a sarcastic retort to give to one of them. However, since she'd gotten back from the hospital…nothing.
"I think I'm going to go see her after school." Said Ryo, looking up into the leaf-covered branches of the tree. Light shown through the leaves, casting a strange green light on the trunk below.
"You mean Rika?" asked Henry, turning to the older boy.
"Yeah," replied Ryo, nodding. "I want to see if she's any better than she was the other day."
"Rika, you have a visitor. It's your boyfriend Ryo."
Ryo blushed lightly and rubbed his forehead. "Please Nanako-san," he said, "I'm just her friend."
Rumiko turned to Ryo, smiling at him. "And you're a boy, aren't you? So you're her boyfriend." Ryo couldn't help but sweatdrop at this comment.
"Anyway, go on in." said Rumiko, smiling. Just before he let Ryo in however, she leaned down and whispered, "Don't be too disappointed if she doesn't say much. She hasn't been very energetic lately, with the surgery and all."
Ryo nodded. "I know." He responded simply.
He watched at Rumiko walked away, then opened the door to Rika's room and stepped inside.
Everything inside the room was dark, the light from the doorway casting a long white line across the floor to the opposite wall. As soon as Ryo's eyes adjusted to the dark, he shut the door behind him, and looked to his left. There was Rika's bed, and just as he suspected, she was still in it.
"Rika?" he asked, walking over and kneeling down beside her. She didn't respond.
'Is she asleep?' he wondered to himself, reaching out and putting his hand on her shoulder.
"I'm awake Ryo." She said quietly, shifting back and forth to shake off his hand.
"Feeling any better?" he asked, sitting down beside her and crossing his legs over each other. Rika however, didn't respond.
"Come on Rika." Said Ryo, stroking her hair. Rika immediately tensed up and flinched away. "What's wrong?"
"None of your business." Said Rika, scrunching up her shoulder.
"…are you thinking about the hospital? The doctor said you'd be fine Rika. You won't have to go back."
"It's not that Ryo." She admitted. "It's him."
"Him?"
"I don't know why…I just keep seeing him. Every night I have nightmares, and he's in them all."
Ryo didn't need her to explain who she was talking about. He already knew. It had to be the attacker.
He gripped the knees of his pants tightly, twisting the fabric around. He could almost see the guy's throat in his hand instead of the cotton. He'd taken Rika away. The Rika Ryo knew was gone, replaced with his quite, apathetic girl.
He could see a vibrant picture of the old Rika in his mind. Always shouting insulting comments, which he would return with sickeningly sweet nicknames. He'd always win. That was the Rika he'd fallen for. The one before him was but an empty shell.
'I'm going to find him.' He thought to himself. He rested a hand on Rika's shoulder yet again, which she quickly shook off. 'I'm going to make him pay for what he did to her.'
Well, that's the end of chapter 8. Unlike several chapters ago, I finally know how and when this is going to end. The ending might be a little cheesy, but I'll do my best to make it otherwise. Oh, and just so you know, the next chapter will be the last. Gasp! I'm actually going to finish a fic! Though, strangely enough, three of my fics are coming to an end. Hm…
Anyway, please R/R so I know if anyone is still reading this story!