Poison

Chapter Ten

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Power Rangers, Ninja Storm, and I'm not making any money from this fic

Replies to reviews:

the real vampire: Well, I can't really give anything away - that wouldn't be fair. You'll have to read further if you want to find out . Anyways, thanks for reviewing, and I'm glad you liked it

garnetred: It's possible... But I'm not gonna say either way . And you might be a little disappointed with Hunter and Lila - sorry. In any case, thanks for reviewing, and I'm glad you liked it

CamFan4Ever: Here's the update . And, yeah, you'll find out about what happened with Hunter and Lila here... Thanks for reviewing, and I'm glad you liked it

Cally stared at her phone after she had said goodbye to Faye, trembling slightly. Her friend hadn't really helped her at all, but then, who would be able to? This wasn't really something that anyone else could help her with.

People just kept on walking past Cally, brushing past her, some jostling her. No one stopped to ask if she was all right, but then, why would they? It wasn't like she was trying to draw attention to herself.

What could be up with Dustin? Cally wondered. More importantly… Has Dustin regained consciousness? Well, he must have…After all, he just came and spoke to me. There's no way he could have just done something like spirit travelled, if that sort of thing is even true, which I doubt.

It might have been strange for Cally, who happened to be a Power Ranger, not to believe in something like the ability to send one's spirit outside of their body. However, Cally actually knew what being a Power Ranger was like… She found it hard to imagine spirit travelling as being possible. She couldn't even begin to guess at how it would be able to work.

Despite her feelings about the impossibility of spirit travelling, though, Cally found her feet moving again. After a few moments, she realised that she was making her way in the direction of the hospital. She tried to tell herself that it was merely in order to put her fears to rest. However, she couldn't stop herself from wondering, wondering just a little…

What if Dustin was still in the hospital?

David knew instinctively that something was wrong as soon as he walked into the house. He didn't know how.

Closing the front door behind him, David tilted his head slightly as he heard the sound of the television in the living room. Blinking a bit, he walked there, and frowned slightly as he couldn't see anyone in the room.

It wasn't likely for either Faye or Cally to walk out of the living room and leave the television on. Unless, of course, they were using the toilet, which was probably where whoever was in the house was.

For some reason, David had the feeling that something had happened. Aside from the television, it was way too quiet. In fact, David wouldn't have been surprised if a masked man appeared with a knife.

After a moment's hesitation, David made his way up the stairs. And this adds to the whole 'being stuck in a bad horror movie' theory, he thought. He didn't leave, though – he just continued walking up the stairs.

Faye was lying on the landing, her arms splayed out, and her eyes closed. David pushed away the slight feeling of panic that threatened to overwhelm him, and knelt beside her to check her pulse.

Thankfully, Faye was still breathing. Unconscious, but still breathing.

David took a few deep breaths in order to calm himself, and straightened up. "Cam?" he said into his communicator.

After a moment, the reply came: "What is it?"

David closed his eyes for a moment. "I think that she's been attacked by whatever's been infecting everyone else," he answered. "Where's everyone else? I'm worried that it might have gone after someone else."

"Hunter and Lila went off to spar," Cam explained after a moment. "Shane's off skateboarding somewhere… I don't know where Peter and Cally are."

David frowned. "I could probably get hold of Cally," he commented. "I don't know about Peter… Can you get here?"

"It might be better to get Faye to the hospital," Cam responded. "Until I can figure out what's wrong with everyone, there's not a lot I can do."

"Ok," David said with a sigh. He supposed that Cam was right, but it was rather frustrating not being able to do anything for Faye. And he hoped that Cally was all right… He couldn't stand it if anything happened to both of them. As it was, he was having enough trouble coming to terms with what had happened to Faye.

Right… Hospital, David thought. He didn't know if he was supposed to move Faye or not. Was that only people who had fallen?

I'll wait until after I've talked to the hospital, David decided. They'll be able to tell me what I should do… Right?

"Er… Stay here," David said to Faye's limp form, despite the fact that she wouldn't have been able to hear him. He then ran down the stairs and into the living room, where he grabbed the phone, held it to his ear, and dialled the number of the nearest hospital from memory.

"Hello, New Hope Hospital, how can we help?" a cheery woman's voice asked.

"Um, hey," David said. "I'm David. My girlfriend Faye has come down with that… disease that's been going around. What should I do?"

"Can you get her to us, or do you need an ambulance?" the woman asked. She sounded calm and straightforward, and David could feel his slight sense of panic receding. At least someone seemed to know what to do.

"I think so," David replied. "It's all right to move her, isn't it?"

"Where did she fall?" the woman asked.

"On the landing," David answered. "I mean, she didn't fall down them or anything… Just collapsed on the landing."

"All right, well, as long as you can't see any injuries, it's all right to bring her in," the woman told David. "If you have any problems, you'd better call back."

"Yes, all right, thank you," David responded. "Goodbye." He put the phone down, and started to go back to the stairs, but then hesitated. Picking up the phone again, he dialled Cally's mobile number.

It rang a few times, and then his sister answered: "Hello, Cally speaking."

"Cal, it's me, David," David said quickly into the phone.

"David, what's wrong?" Cally demanded. She sounded a little alarmed. "Why are you calling? Is everything all right?"

"No…" David answered slowly. "It's Faye. She's become… infected."

"What!" Cally yelped. "What happened!"

"I'm not sure," David admitted. "I only just got in, and Faye was already like that when I arrived. I'm taking her to New Hope Hospital. I'll talk to you later. Bye." With that, he disconnected the call, and quickly made his way back up the stairs to take Faye to the hospital.

Hunter slowly pulled back from Lila, his hands falling away from her shoulders.

The silver silk ranger opened her eyes to watch Hunter, feeling her heart flutter a little in her chest. She didn't even notice the fact that she was trembling, but a part of her did note that there were little shivers, almost like cold fingers, running up and down her back. This whole thing would have been pretty much perfect, had it not been for one very small detail.

The look on Hunter's face.

The crimson thunder ranger looked a bit dazed. However, there was also a look on his face that seemed to be one of regret, and Lila somehow got the feeling that he felt that he had made a mistake.

The silver silk ranger braced herself, either for Hunter to start yelling at her, or for him to try and tell her nicely that he didn't want this.

"Lila… That was a mistake…" Hunter said slowly. "I'm sorry; I don't want you to get the wrong idea…"

"Oh, sure, I understand," Lila responded. "After all, it's not like you can just… forget what I did." Try as she might, the silver silk ranger couldn't keep the bitterness out of her voice.

"It's not just that," Hunter admitted. "It's that… I feel like I shouldn't be doing this, not with my brother lying in hospital. Not with everything that's been going on. What right do I have to have any form of happiness while my friends are in hospital, maybe in pain, maybe dying?"

Lila bit her lip slightly. "Hunter… I said that I'd give you all the time you needed," she reminded him. "But… I'm not sure that I can do that. I've been trying, but I can't just keep waiting for you. I'm sorry… But I don't think that I can do this…"

Hunter looked at Lila for a long moment, then, "You do whatever you have to do, Lila… I won't ask you not to. But I'm sorry… I can't give you what you want. Not yet, at least…"

"Fine," Lila replied, despite the sinking feeling she had deep in the pit of her stomach. "Maybe I'll just go and date someone else." With those words, she streaked off.

Hunter watched her go, the pain stabbing through him like a knife. He cared about Lila, of course, and he felt bad about hurting her.

But he didn't know if he could allow himself to actually love her.

Cally walked quickly into the hospital room that Faye had been admitted to, feeling worried and almost frightened. What was she going to do if Faye died? The orange light ranger had always been by her side. Cally had never really given how much she relied on her friend much thought before.

David was sitting by Faye's bed, holding her hand in both of his. He glanced up as Cally entered, and gave her a tired smile. "Hey," he said softly.

"How is she?" Cally asked quietly, sitting down in the other chair next to the bed.

"The same as the others," David answered with a soft sigh. "Exactly the same… Cal, I don't know what I can do."

"Just have to wait for Cam to get it sorted out, I suppose," Cally said. "I mean, he is doing his best."

"I guess," David sighed. "I'm just so worried, you know?"

Cally nodded slowly. "I get it," she replied. "If you want to go and get something to eat or do something else, I'll keep an eye on her, if you want."

"I might just go and get a drink," David said after a moment. "Let me know if anything changes."

"Sure," Cally responded.

The white light ranger nodded, and then stood up. He glanced towards Faye a moment, and then left.

Cally sat there, her eyes narrowed. This was the last thing she could cope with. First Dustin, and now Faye…

That's it, I'm gonna have to do what I planned, Cally thought. She didn't really have any other choice.

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