Kaoru
Fifteen minutes of walking in the forest and would be another fifteen minutes to go back to Grandpa's house. Man, I wished I had a new mountain bike.
Maybe later, I'll talk to Grandpa, I thought. I wanted to talk to him about these visions I've been getting. The dreams have me bothered. I felt they meant something. Plus, they were driving me crazy! I was starting to get fed up.
"Damnit!" I cursed and threw a kick at a nearby tree. I wished I knew what they meant! Maybe Grandpa might know.
The moment I kicked the tree, something fell off the tree and hit the ground, headfirst. I looked down and found an unconscious bird, a red-tailed hawk by the looks of it.
"Oh my gosh! I hope it's alright," I said. I completely forgot about the dreams.
Maybe I should bring it to a vet.
The only vets near here would be at the Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic. It wasn't far from where I was standing. Now the problem was that I might meet someone familiar there.
Cassie.
Half of me didn't want to go. I mean, Cassie's a nice girl but I wondered what she would think of me after I refused her request at school. I just didn't want to make friends with anyone. Even if Cassie just offered me to sit with her and Rachel.
Maybe it's all right. Maybe it would just wake up and fly again.
I turned away.
Besides, what could happen to it?
Guilt hit me like a ton of bricks. I looked back at the hawk. I couldn't just leave it. So in the end, I was on my way to Cassie's place, with the hawk in one arm and the other hand holding my bike, of course.
Halfway there, I was thinking about the night. The night at the construction site. Don't know why but I just thought of it.
Come to think of it... That was the night I started having the visions...
Sudden movement struggled in my arm. The hawk was waking up. It gazed up and looked surprised at me. And it didn't fight back as birds would normally do. Strange.
"Good, you're awake," I said to it. "Hopefully you didn't break a wing or two."
What am I doing? I, Kaoru, am talking to a bird.
Well, it did beat talking to a human.
"You might be wondering why a idiot like me happened to threw a tantrum, kicked a tree so hard that you fell down and hit you head, right?"
I heaved a sigh. It felt peaceful, talking to someone who can't talk back.
"Let's just say a lot of things has happened me. Lately, strange things have happened. First I saw some weird creature at a site, and then I started to get weird dreams. I think I'm going crazy because I keep hearing voices in my head and saw the same creature in a mall."
The hawk jerked a bit but continued to glance at me.
"It's like everything keeps coming at me. Like they're reasons. And I don't know what they are. I wish I knew what they all meant," I said. "Not only that... I feel something's gonna haunt me again. I'm afraid that...I might hurt everyone... Ever though, I feel hurt...scared inside. Because I'm always alone..."
Tears streamed down my cheeks. I wiped them away.
"I'm really becoming a jerk, aren't I?" I asked the hawk. It just looked at me. I sniffed up all my sadness and walked on.
I looked up. There stood a barn and Cassie's house. The barn is actually the Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic. Cassie's dad is a vet while her mom works at the Gardens, a zoo. "Here it is."
I walked up to the barn and left my bike outside.
"I hope someone's here." I was about to knock the doors, when I sss she still remembered the cafeteria incident.
"Hey, I'm sorry about back then. At school."
"It's okay. You know something? Even tu know that I really jumped out of my shoes with fright? Yup, I did.
I turned around nervously and there standing behind me was Cassie. Average height, solidly built, not skinny, not fat and short hair.
"Uh, hi Cassie," I greeted. "I just came here because I found this hawk in the woods. It fell off a tree and I'm not sure if it's hurt or not."
"It fell off a tree? How?"
I scratched my head sheepishly. "That I really don't know. Well, I should get going."
"Hey, wait. Why don't you come in and help me out a little? You're not in a hurry, right?"
Should I refuse?
Then I remembered what Zack had said this afternoon. "Zoe, isn't it about time you make friends?"
Those words rang like a doorbell. I had friends in Japan that I left behind. And now I had none here in this country. I was completely alone in my own world.
Should I start all over again?
I looked at Cassie, who smiled. "Sure. I wouldn't mind."
"So, what were you doing in the forest?" she asked as we walked inside the barn.
"I was just biking around."
As we entered, it was like I was thrown into a forest full of wild animals. Dozen of cages full of birds in one part of the barn. Larger cages for badgers and opossums and skunks and deer. Even a pair of wolves. Far from the wolves were the horses.
"Wow," I gasped. "Zack would go crazy if he came here."
"And why would you say that?" Cassie asked while she examined the hawk.
"He's always such a sucker for animals. We used to keep pets in Japan like dogs or cats," I told her. "There was a time we hid and kept a stray dog, too... Now we keep a ferret."
I hate to admit it, but that goofball of a brother does have his redeeming points...
"Did you say something?" Cassie asked.
"Oh, nothing. Really! So how's the hawk?" I quickly asked.
"It's okay. No broken bones or anything."
"Ah, that's good."
A pause. She suddenly giggled.
"Huh? What's so funny?" I asked, not rudely.
"It's just...I never expected you to be someone who likes animals."
I looked away. Guess she still remembered the cafeteria incident.
"Hey, I'm sorry about back then. At school."
"It's okay. You know something? Even though you're always looking tough, you're quite clumsy in a way."
I jerked my head. I felt like I've been stabbed in the back. "Clumsy?"
"Yeah. It was quite funny that you slipped just before you left the cafeteria and dropped everything on yourself," she laughed.
I however, wasn't laughing. I was sulking quietly in my own world. Those words stabbed me right in the chest.
Am I really such a klutz? Is it because that I'm not focused at all?
During the days at school, I had slammed into a door that was open five times, slipped down the stairs three times and did stuff that are far too embarrassing for me to say.
"I'm sorry if I offended you," Cassie apologized.
"I-It's okay," I lied with a sob. I tried to change the subject. "What was it that you wanted help?"
I was a bit distracted from what Cassie was talking about. That was because I heard the sound hooves stomping the ground quietly. It sounded not far away, close by, in the shadows. And the horses and deer were far away.
I turned and walked closer to the shadows. I was alert. There was something. Under the yellow overhead bulbs something glittered blue. Cautiously, I approached. And before I knew, I stepped on something and it hit me like a pole. I blacked out after that.
What? You were expecting something popping right in front of me? Well, this was really what happened.
Anyhow, I blacked out. I don't know how long but when I awoke, Cassie and another kid were looking down at me.
"Zoe, are you okay?" Cassie asked.
"Urgh... What just happened?" I inquired, instead of answering her.
"You were hit by a rake. R-a-aake," the other kid said. Did this kid have a speaking problem?
"I feel like I've been hit by a truck than a rake..." I groaned. My nose felt a bit broken.
"Here." Cassie handed me an ice pack and I put it on my face.
Ouch, that stings... I thought.
I looked up at the kid and until my vision cleared, I recognized him.
"Hey, you're Ax, aren't you?"
Cassie's eyes widened. "You met him...?" Her voice sounded shrieked.
"Yeah. Some time ago. I met him at the mall. Never expect to see you here."
"You are Zoe? Zo-ree," Ax asked.
"Does he always play with his words?" I whispered to Cassie. She didn't answer. She kept staring at me with wide eyes. "Are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah. I'm fine," she said.
I raised an eyebrow but turned to Ax. "Well, it's nice to meet you again," I greeted, holding my hand up. He stared at my hand.
I laughed. "Guess you're really from a far country. It's okay. I don't blame you."
The barn became quiet again. "Hey, what's with the silent treatment? I said I'm okay. Geez, am I making a scene here?" I joked and heaved a sigh of depression. My jokes are bad as they are.
Cassie smiled. "We better treat that bump."
"It's okay. It just a sma-" The moment she reached to take the ice-pack, something flashed before my eyes. A vision.
I think it was a vision. I would only have them in my dreams. This one was different.
I saw animals fighting in a weird dimension. Weird monsters yelling and shouting to announce their speeches. A bird falling, dying.
And that wasn't the worse part.
It was Cassie dying...
I got up in fright and ran. Ran as fast as my legs could carry. I needed to get out of here. Cassie shouted behind me but I didn't stop. I took my bike and I rode.
I rode fast. I didn't stop for a break or anything. I rode until I came into a break in the forest. Then, my bike went downwards. A hill.
"Yaarrrrrgh!"
I crashed. My bike on top of me. Suffering small cuts and bruises. I pushed the bike away and breathed deeply.
"Oww... That was a fall..."
I looked up and saw a bungalow. Grandpa's bungalow. Home.
I looked down, feeling guilty what I done back then.
I'd better apologize to Cassie later for taking off like that... I thought guilty.
I left my bike outside and walked in. I needed to talk to someone now. I searched for Grandpa. The house was quiet, too quiet. I entered the training room and found it empty. And it was dark too.
"Grandpa, are you here? Granpa?"
I heard a swooshing sound. Someone was behind me. I darted to the left and missed the swinging bamboo sword. A stranger in the dark was attacking me. He was wearing a kendo outfit and had the bamboo sword ready. I dodged the strikes the stranger threw. I had no weapon so all I could do was avoid.
He swung his sword at my legs but I somersaulted in the air, landing near the door. With a flick of my finger at a switch, the lights went on. I stared at the stranger, my arms crossed, my face with a frown.
"Hi, Grandpa."
The stranger laughed and took off his facemask. The old face of Grandpa beamed at me with his smile.
"You always had the eye to know people too well," Grandpa laughed.
"It's obvious. You're the only person I know who holds a sword and surprises his grandchildren just to intensely train them. You know, you should try another way than this."
Without warning, he hit me on the head with his sword from behind. I groaned on the floor, crumpling in pain and holding my head.
"And this conversation is a good lesson to you," he laughed.
"I hate you..." I hissed.
"What brings you here in such an occasion?" he asked putting the bamboo sword aside.
I looked away but turned to the person I could trust. "I need to tell you something."
I told him everything that happened to me so far. About the visions, the weird incident at the mall and the grocery store, and finally, the feeling I felt back at the construction site but I didn't tell him about the creature that was at the site. He would only suggest I'd need counseling.
He nodded his head and cupped his shaved chin.
"Hmm, this is peculiar. Tell me...are you afraid of these happenings?" he asked.
I fought myself not to cry. "To tell you the truth, yeah... I have tried to act tough and forget everything...but I can't. I just can't. I feel like something's going to haunt me again."
"...Maybe this is to tell you to be strong."
"Huh?" I looked up at him and saw his smile.
"Kaoru, sometimes, there are things that are telling us, about the past, the present and the future. Maybe those visions are telling you, are showing you just that. Don't be afraid. Maybe the answer to all those questions you have will come," Grandpa said wisely.
The wind chimes sang as the breeze blew.
"When?" I asked him.
"In time. In time." He got up on his feet and turned to the door.
"Now...," he said, looking at me with a wink. "Shall we have some green tea?"
I slowly smiled and nodded.
After that conversation and the green tea, I left. The sun was setting already. But I needed to do something first.
I had to go to see Cassie and apologize to her.
tigerlily-2250 – Oh, Zoe will be an Animorph after the next few chapters. And soon the chapter of why she's afraid of sharp objects EXCEPT daggers will be coming. Thanks for reviewing!