.:Chapter Four:.
It was a dark and desolate place. She could hear the echoes of her heels with every cautious step she took. The darkness blinded her capability to see anything. She gagged as she inhaled a deep breath. There was a foul stench in the air, but she could not pin point as to what was causing this horrid smell. The putrid smell was overwhelming her respiratory system as her breathing soon became labored and strenuous to get what little pure air there was.
She heard a cry of pain come from the distance. She had no idea what could be up ahead; she could be falling into a trap for all she knew. She dared to take a hesitant step forward into the unknown. Shivers ran up her spine with every step she took and her mind was screaming to get as far away from the scream as possible. However, her curiosity seemed to overpower her logic and kept on in search of the person who screamed.
She still could not see anything, but she was able to hear every sound that was made, especially the groans of undeniable pain. She slightly quickened her pace; her heart beat rapidly increasing as every second passed by.
The air became thicker as the vile smell became stronger. She slowed down her pace once she felt a splash of liquid upon her ankle as her foot hit the ground. She slowly kneeled down as her index finger came in contact with the slightly warm liquid. She raised her finger towards her nose to smell the unknown substance. She inhaled the scent and gasped as her eyes widened when she realized what it was… blood.
The wails of agony had stopped and a deafening silence consumed everything. She quickly stood up when she felt the hairs on her neck stand on end. She squinted her eyes, struggling to try and see anything through the darkness. Something was near; she could sense it.
She let out a gasp, but before she could react any further, someone had a firm hold around her neck…
The silence of the night was broken when the silhouette of a young woman abruptly sat up in bed while tugging the sheets closer to her chest. Her long hair draped down her back as tiny droplets of sweat occupied her face. Her cheeks were flushed and her breathing was rapid. She lifted her palm towards her neck to try and reassure herself that she was all right. That it all was just a dream.
She slowed down her breathing and calmed herself down to a normal state. Her mind then focused on her dream. It had all seem so real to her. She rested her head in the palm of her hands and tried to think of what her dream might mean. Her instincts were telling her that her dream was more important than it seemed to be, but what could it be?
She thought that maybe she should share her newfound dream with the rest of the girls and see what they thought of the subject. She reconsidered her idea when she thought that there was no need to interfere her friend's lives with her dream, that is, until she thought it was absolutely necessary to do so.
Her drowsiness soon became evident to her as she let out a slow yawn. She glanced towards the side of her bed to look at her clock. She laid back down in her bed trying to get into a comfortable position as she still had several hours to sleep before her day actually began. Her heavy eyelids quickly closed as slumber once again consumed her.
The raven-haired priestess had started her morning chores before her grandpa had time to nag her about it.The little old man would always be swooning over the latest female that walked anywhere near the temple premises. Even though he was no where near half their height, he would always find a way to attract their attention.
Rei hastily swept the rest of the floor. She had awakened last night with a startle and had felt uneasy all morning. Her intuition was telling her that something wasn't right.
Rei entered the temple to meditate and see if she can sense anything absurd from the sacred fire reading. She removed her shoes and sat on her feet, while getting in a comfortable position.
Rei took a deep breath to relax her tense body and looked deeply into the fire and concentrated on her inner thoughts. Her body had become perfectly still even though her thoughts were rapidly going through her brain as she tried to detect her uneasiness.
The fire had not produced any images to her, nor any visions or glimpses of what could be causing her this distressing feeling. She started to get frustrated, but she needed to keep her mind clear. Then she saw a dark color flicker among the intense flames. Two dark figures took shape in the midst of the flames. One was slightly taller than the other. Her eyebrows furrowed together as she tried to stay focused. She couldn't see any physical features in which she would be able to recognize.
Although she could not distinguish their looks, she was able to hear the slightest sound of a woman's voice. Rei leaned forward in hopes of detecting the quiet whispers that she heard. The voice sounded like a frantic plea, as if uttering those words would provide her the knowledge that she desperately wanted, "Don't go! Please… you must tell me. This situation is more serious than you let on!"
Before Rei could listen more intently, her line of thought was disturbed. The images started to drift form her as the flames consumed them. She sighed as she leaned forward on her two palms.
Rei cocked her head to the side as loud giggles could be heard from outside the temple. She groaned as she lifted herself up and headed outside to see the latest girls that her grandpa was currently entertaining. Her curiosity about her newfound vision would have to wait until later on where she would be able to concentrate more.
The smell of bacon and eggs wafted towards her as she made her way downstairs. Serena let a small smile spread across her face knowing that her mother had already gotten up early as usual, to prepare breakfast for the family.
Sometimes she took for granted everything that her mother did for her. Her mother did so much, pouring her heart into everything she did without expecting anything in return, except for a little kindness to be shown. Even though Serena was able to do everything on her own, her mom still made sure that her little princess had everything that she needed.
"Would you mind hurrying it up a little? I would like to eat within the next hour," came an annoying voice that could only belong to her younger brother, Sammy.
She deliberately stopped in front of the doorway to the kitchen in spite of him, while turning around to face him. She stared into his hazel colored eyes defiantly as they held an unspoken staring contest.
Sammy shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he tried to hold his gaze, but failed, as he was the first to blink. Serena let a smug smirk grace her features knowing that her brother had loss.
Sammy rolled his eyes at his sister's smirk and pushed Serena to the side to get through to the kitchen. Before he had a chance to take two steps, Serena had retaliated to even out the score.
"You little punk," she said while grabbing onto his shirt by the collar.
Sammy tried to struggle free from her, but was unsuccessful. So he did the one thing that would without doubt grant him freedom from his sister's grasp.
"Mom!" Sammy called out with the most distressing tone he could muster up.
From the corner of her eye, Serena could see her mother standing over the hot stove while calling out in a sweet and calm voice, "Serena, what did I tell you about your brother?"
Serena let out a sigh as she released her brother and stared at his back as he walked away, "That I am to take a deep breath and restrain myself from strangling him."
"That's right dear," She heard her mother reply as Serena took a seat across the table from her brother who was now stuffing his face with food. She looked away in disgust and turned her attention to her own food as her mother set her plate before her.
Kenji had been reading the newspaper, but abruptly folded it up and set it aside as he looked towards his wife, "Ikuko, do you remember that massacre I was telling you about last week?" He waited as his wife gave him a nod before he continued on, "Well, it seems that the investigators still don't know how it happened and don't have any witnesses. Can you believe it? All of those people are dead and we have a serial killer on the lose in which we have no clue on capturing."
Ikuko took her seat at the table while considering the information that her husband told her, "Well, the world has become quite a dangerous place nowadays and you just have to be cautious with everything you do."
Serena listened as her parents made out polite conversation while she finished her breakfast. She got up from her seat and took her empty plate to the sink. "Did you hear what your mother said Serena? You have to be careful wherever you go now."
Serena dramatically rolled her eyes at her father's attempt at warning her of the dangers of the world. If only he knew of the dangers that she faced every single day. He would probably go into a crazy rampage if he ever found out that someone was trying to hurt his baby girl!
"Serena, are you even listening to me?" Serena turned towards her father and made sure to look him in the eye while giving him her full attention, "I want you to start calling home if you're going to stay out late and to never be alone, always travel in pairs. Remember the buddy system that you used in first grade, well, now's the time to make that an every day routine!" Even though her dad had used a firm tone in telling her what to do, she could still hear the underlining concern that was hidden in his voice.
Serena sighed as she walked over to her dad and gave him a light kiss on the cheek, "Okay dad." She walked over to Sammy and ruffled his hair a bit before she said her goodbyes and made her exit.
The sound of the electronic doors were heard as they opened. Lita walked through the doors and entered the arcade. The wounds on her back were healing quite nicely. Soon those horrendous cuts would be nothing more than a hidden scar with the help from Ami and her wonderful knowledge of medicine.
Lita walked towards the counter to go and greet Andrew. He notices her as he waves to her while she sat on one of the open stools. "Hey Andrew! How's work been?"
Andrew sighed and shrugged his shoulders, "You know, the same old stuff that I do everyday of the week." Lita slightly chuckled at his comment.
Lita glanced over her shoulder as she heard the bell from the door jingle. To her disappointment it was only some random guy and not her friends. She watched as the man came and sat at the counter as well, while buying a strawberry shake.
Lita sat and waited for the girls as Andrew continued to serve incoming customers. Once Andrew was finished, he stood in front of Lita while wiping the counter with a damp cloth. "So, do you know a specific time in which the girls are supposed to meet you here?"
Lita looked at her watch and sighed, "Sometime around noon." Andrew looked at her while raising one of his eyebrows, "Then you do know that Serena won't be here until an hour after that, " he replied dryly.
Lita let a smirk come across her face, "Nope, not this time," she said while leaning her arms on the counter, "They're all supposed to meet up and Rei's place so she can drive them here!"
Andrew laughed at her statement, "Well, how are you to know that she won't be late to Rei's place?"
"Shit, I guess that I didn't think that far ahead!" Lita hung her head down in defeat. Andrew gave her a slight pat on the shoulder before excusing himself to go and get something from the back room. The man who had been sitting near her finished his shake and abruptly got up and left the building.
Lita patiently waited for Andrew to return. Several minutes passed and still he had not come back. It wasn't always good to leave the register for long periods of time and she didn't want Andrew to get into any kind of trouble.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud banging noise coming from the back room. Her gaze focused on the door to the back room with concern, "Hey Andrew, are you all right back there?"
Author's Note: Gosh, I always have trouble uploading these chapters! It frustrates me so much! Okay... I know it's been a long time since I last updated, but what can I say, I'm a MAJOR procrastinator and to top it off, I was in a major state of writer's block as well! Anyways, I hoped that you liked the chapter, so don't forget to review and tell me what you think!