Disclaimer: I still don't own the characters. When I do, I'll let you know.
Keira was weeping in hopelessness as she sat near Jak's limp body. Her eyes were red, and her face was tearstreaked.After the Eco had worn off, he was back to his normal form but had gone unconscious immediately. He had been like this for nearly ten minutes.
As for Keira, she could barely move. The energy it had taken to heal Jak had been drained from her own body, so she was nearly paralyzed and she ached with exhaustion. She had called the emergency medical squad several minutes ago, and they had promised to have a crew there within a quarter of an hour. She had contacted her father as well, but he was out somewhere and would probably not be back for a while.
As she sat, she pondered what had happened. Jak was obviously in some sort of shock, and that had caused him to transform. But why was he unconscious? There was no more Green Eco, or else she would have tried to revive him and have him explain to her exactly what he had been doing that would cause this to happen. But that was only wishful thinking.
Minutes ticked by, and still she sat there. The paramedics should have been there by now. She had heard that they were unreliable, but this was ridiculous. Jak could be dying. As a matter of fact, so could she. Who knew if they would ever come? In a couple of days they would be dead, and someone would find their bodies, and they would... She shuddered at the very thought and tried to concentrate on something other that death. It was difficult since Jak was right in front of her and how much he looked like death itself scared her.
There was an icy draft blowing in through the partially open door, and Keira shivered violently. She looked out through the doorway. The people of Haven City hurried past Jak's home. A few of them glanced curiously, probably wondering why the door was open on such a cold day, but no one stopped to actually find out. The people of Haven had spent nearly twenty years under the tyranny of Baron Praxis. They had learned to work hard, eat little, and above all blend into the crowd. That way there was less chance of being singled out for cruel and unfair punishment, or the worst: being put in the dreaded Fortress Prison, where no one who went in ever came out.
Keira herself had learned these guidelines, but as her status as a mechanic and racer rose, she had less to worry about. The Krimzon Guard was less likely to pick on the people of the higher classes. They wanted people who were too far down on the social ladder to be missed by anyone except their immediate family. They didn't want anyone to interfere with their selection of innocent citizens that they placed in the prison. Keira had suspicions now that Errol had been telling the truth when he told her about the Fortress and what went on in there. He hadmentioned the brutal torture and genetic experimentation that went on there.
Keira had convinced herself that he was joking. After all, no one in their right mind would do something so horrible to another person.
The law would put a stop to it. Now she realized, with a sinking feeling, that the Krimzon Guard was the law, and Errol was a sociopath who didn't care how much pain he inflicted upon people and their families. And to think what she had done for him. All of the sacrifices she had made, all of the things she had hoped for, were laid to waste because of Errol. She and Jak could never be together because of what she had done to Jak. I thought he was dead, she tried to reason with herself. How was I to know that I would ever see him again? But the other part of her mind argued, you still loved him, and you cared for him, and then you threw it all away.
"I didn't mean to, Jak!" she sobbed to his motionless form. "I'm sorry. I ruined everything. We could have had a future, and my actions snatched that away." She slumped over in fatigue and submitted to the blackness in her head.
Keira awoke to a loud sound. She looked around wildly. The noise was a door. The front door had slammed shut, but too late. The room was already freezing. She sat up and stretched. Her energy level was somewhat restored, and she looked over at Jak. He was still unconscious, but his breathing was more even and he looked peaceful. Keira grabbed the communicator where she had dropped it on the floor. She called the medic squad again.
"I'm still here and the guy is still unconscious! This is the heir to the throne of Haven City and if he dies everyone will hold you responsible!" "Ok, ok, chill out," the guy on the other end of the line said. He hung up.
Next Keira called her father. Samos was still out somewhere, presumably to Haven Forest where he liked to study the Great Tree. "Gosh, Dad, why do you have to be gone when I need you most!" Keira cried aloud. She slumped down onto the lumpy green sofa to wait for the paramedics. She couldn't bring herself to look at Jak. It was too painful. It reminded her of all they could have had together if she had only thought before doing what she had done.
"Jak," she whispered. "I'm only telling you this now because you can't hear me. There is something that I have to tell you. I can't bring myself to tell you all of it, but I will say this. I still love you, and today has made me realize exactly how much I do. But even if you care about me like you once did, we can never be together. I have done something to you that can never be erase. I was unfaithful to you, and I am going to forever remember it and be tortured by it. So it is time for both of us to let go." She knew she was talking to his unconscious form, but she couldn't help herself, as she felt the words had tumbled out of her mouth.There was a loud knock at the door, but before Keira could answer it, it opened.
It was the paramedics. "Finally," Keira breathed. She explained briefly to them what had happened to Jak, and then they asked her to go outside while they looked him over. Reluctantly Keira stepped outside, and she sat near the door. On the other side of her was a burning barrel of trash. The heat from it blistered her arm right were Dark Jak's claws had raked her skin, but she did her best to ignore the searing pain as she sat. She vowed not to move from there until they came out with Jak.
It was getting dark and colder as late afternoon wore on. Keira could hear nothing from inside the house, no clues as to how long it would be until they could get Jak to the hospital. At least there she would know that he was going to survive. Here, she had her doubts as to whether or not these people were qualified medics, since it had taken two calls and a long amount of time to get them to come down here in the first place.The fire in the barrel had long since gone out: someone had thrown a bucket of cold water on it. Most of the water had splashed onto Keira's shivering form, but she scarcely noticed it. It was nothing compared to what she had endured when she lived on the streets in her first month is Haven City. Then she had been cold and wet all of the time, and since no one knew her, she couldn't even find a doorway to sleep in.
Just then the heavy front door opened, and three men came out, carrying Jak on a stretcher. Keira tried to ask one of them what was the matter with him, but none of them would tell her. All they said were, "Would you like to ride with him in the ambulance?" Keira shook her head. She couldn't be that close to him again. It would tear her apart. "I'll walk to the hospital and see him. It's not far." They both knew that it was across the city from there and that Keira was lying, but he ignored it and she walked away. The hospital was several miles away, and Keira ran there as fast as she could.
When she arrived, the nurse in the front informed her that he was in room 117 and that he was awake and just fine. Keira thanked the woman, than headed down to his room. But now, even though she had gone as quickly as she could to the hospital, she slowed down. She didn't know what she was supposed to say to him now that he was awake. She had had no trouble speaking when he was unconscious, but now...
She finally reached room 117. Jak was in the bed, propped up by numerous pillows. There were bandages on his body were he had scratched himself, but otherwise he appeared to be in fairly good shape. He looked up when she entered, and appeared to be surprised to see her.
"Hello," he said mildly.
"Hey," she muttered, studying in the green tile floor. He motioned to the folding chair propped against the wall.
"Sit down," he urged. Following his orders, she silently unfolded the chair and sat down near the bed.
"What did they say was wrong with you?" she asked. She realized that this was the first time in months they had had a conversation that didn't consist of a few clipped, icy words. He smiled. He has a nice smile, Keira thought. The expression looked foreign on his face, as it had been years since she'd seen him smile.
"Nothing," he said. "The Eco from the monsters was too much for me. My immunity to it was wearing away. I went into shock. When you gave me the health restoration, it may very well have saved my life. The doctors gave me something to get me out of the shock, and I'm fine now. As a matter of fact I'm being discharged tonight."
"Oh," Keira said. As she studied his face, he took on a serious expression. "I was paralyzed and weak, but I wasn't unconscious. I could hear every word that you said." Those words were the words that Keira had been least expecting to hear.
"Oh..." she murmured, looking at the floor again.
"Keira..." he whispered. "Look at me. Please." She couldn't bear to look him in the face. It was physically and mentally too much for her as she sat limply in her chair. But then she felt his fingers under her chin, lifting her face toward his. Without thinking she grabbed his hand and clutched it tightly. "What did you mean?" he asked gently. She shook her head.
"I can't tell you. I can't ever tell you. It would be better for me to just never see you again."
"Keira, whatever it is that happened to you, you can tell me. I'm not going to condemn you... I just want to know," he said.
"You do deserve to know, but I can't bear it. Talking about it will be like living through everything again, and I can't do that. I'm sorry." She lowered her eyes. She felt awful for not telling him the truth, but she was sure that he would be furious if she ever revealed to him what she had done."
"You can tell me. You must," he murmured. "If you don't we'll both be in pain over it forever."
"You won't," Keira said. "You have a life in this horrible city. You have a future here, a future as the greatest king these poor people have ever seen and ever will see. You could just forget about me in all the confusion up at the Palace, and we'd both be happier that way."
"Would you really?" he said. "I wouldn't. I would always wonder how I lost you, and what had happened that caused that." Those words touched her heart like none ever had before.
"I'll tell you," she said. "But you'll hate me forever."