I could not believe it. Erol had written me that message? But why? Wasn't he the commander of the Krimzon Guard? Uh oh… maybe this was about the whole Town Square Massacre thing… I took a step back, and held my breath.
"You were the one that told me to come here?" I asked. More like demanded. Erol nodded. Great… he was probably going to try and wring my neck or something…Oh boy…
"I know you're wondering why I did want you here," he started. I quickly nodded, getting ready to whip out my blaster and start shooting like mad. "I've been watching you for a good long time, Jakie." He has? Stalker… "Since when you were captured and used for the Baron's 'experiments' to when you massacred almost half of the Krimzon Guard." I gulped again. Here it comes…
"And what's your point?" I demanded in a lower voice. He slowly approached me. Again, I held my breath…
"I've been battling myself for a long time now over what to do with you, and I've finally come to a final decision," he explained. He stopped less than I foot away from me. Well, he was either going to try and hit me, or go for the kill. But I was ready for him…
"What decision?" I asked, lowering my voice even more. Well, I got my answer all right. Except it wasn't in words at all… He just wrapped one arm around my waist, pulled me against him and put his lips against mine.
I was so shocked I couldn't move. I'd been prepared for anything that could happen, but not THIS! I hadn't even considered something like this happening! After everything I'd done to put a good hurt on the government of Haven city, Erol, the KG commander, was in love with me. Talk about interesting twist of fate! I'd always despised Erol, Praxis and everyone else, because of the stories dad would tell me of his adventures. But now… well, I wasn't sure what to think.
Surprisingly, his kiss wasn't forceful (I would've expected it to be). I wasn't sure how to describe it. I'd never really been kissed before. To be completely honest… even though it was with Erol, I liked it. Maybe this was why he'd stopped coming to my eco treatments while I was a prisoner of his 'majesty' the Baron. It was a possibility.
When the kiss was over, there was a long, uncomfortable silence between us. I was still in shock. Erol loved me. The words sounded a little funny strung together. He just stared into my eyes as if reading my thoughts, and I stared back. What was he thinking? I couldn't tell… his eyes were clouded with so many different emotions it was impossible to tell. And I was still trying to convince myself of what had just happened.
"What just happened?" I squeaked when I found my voice. He didn't answer me. He just released his grip and backed away a couple of steps.
"I found out about your machine," he started, changing the subject. Figures… "You used Precursor technology to power it." I nodded. "I believe you'll find what you're looking for in the forest." He started to walk away, but then stopped. "And good luck to you." I just stared as he jumped into his Hellcat and zoomed off. Well… that was… crazy… time to go back to the hideout.
I was still in a complete daze when I reached the hideout. I couldn't stop thinking about that kiss with Erol. Why DID he kiss me, and then leave so suddenly? I was so deep in thought that I almost didn't hear Uncle Torn talking to me.
"Jakie, what happened? Everything all right?" he asked. I just nodded. I didn't really feel like talking about it.
"What happened?" Dawn repeated, "Who was there?" I bit my lip.
"No one in particular…" I answered. My voice was quieter than usual, and that was a dead give away to them that something very out of the ordinary had happened. But I didn't care about what they thought at the moment. Before anyone could even open their mouths to ask me what had happened, I spoke up and dismissed myself. "I'm going to go lay down…" I said in the same voice and left the room. I knew that everyone was giving me a weird look as I drug myself out of the room. I didn't care. I was tired, confused, and still in a way shocked.
So why did Erol kiss me and then take off so quickly? Good question. My number one suspicion was that he was in love with me. He IS pretty handsome… wait, WHAT! Did I just think that? Am I… falling for him? No! Absolutely not! Jakie, you're the daughter of Jak Mar, the 'Dark Eco Freak' that Erol despises so much! How can you like someone who hates your family? That's stupid! But as much as I tried to convince myself that I didn't like erol, a small voice in the back of my mind kept telling me that I was falling for him… But that's impossible! It was just a kiss! I couldn't be starting to like him! …Could I?