Nightfall - Chapter 2

The night seemed to be endless. Although the rain and the thunder had stopped some time ago the sun just wouldn't rise. It seemed as if the world was grieving over the death of its last hero.

Or maybe Coco just felt as if it was dark around her, maybe the sun stood high, maybe the sky was blue and cloudless, but in her world there was nothing but eternal darkness.

The female bandicoot wrapped her thin arms around her knees and rested her head on them. Her eyes were dry and bloodshot from all the crying, her jeans as well as her once white shirt were filthy and her usual shiny blonde hair was a mess. Dry mud covered her skin.

Coco buried her face in her hands. To her slight surprise she noticed that she was crying again; a sinlge teardrop rolled down her cheek before it touched her left hand. Sobbing slightly Coco raised her hand and regarded it. She discovered dry blood sticking to her skin. Crash's blood. Coco closed her eyes to stop the rising flood of tears; she felt like she would die if she shed one more tear. Instead she sank back into the darkness that surrounded her. The memories of the last night, still fresh in her mind, didn't allow her to come to rest. Whenever she closed her eyes she saw her brother, lying defeated and helpless on the ground while Cortex aimed his gun at him, enjoying his triumph, saw all the blood again, saw the tears in Crash's eyes, all the pain and fear he had to feel before Cortex had pulled the trigger ...

Uttering a desperate sigh Coco opened her eyes again, rested her heavy head against the cold wall she sat in front of and whimpered softly. Searching for a way to escape the memories that waited for her inside her mind she let her eyes wander around her surroundings.

She was in Cortex castle, locked in a tiny, windowless cell. The only light came from a light bulb dangling from the ceiling high above her.

After Cortex had killed her brother there was not much Coco remembered. She knew she had tried to reach her brother in time, but of course she had been no match for Dingodile. Then she couldn't remember anything, apparently she had been out cold for quite a while. The next thing she remembered was Dingodile carrying her through a long, dark corridor and eventually throwing her into this rotten cell, closing the door with a mocking "Goodnight, sheila".

At first Coco had been in some kind of trance. Then she had been angry, shouting and screaming on top of her loungs. And then the pain had come, making her huddle into a corner and sit there for the rest of the night. Coco had never cried so much in her entire life as she had done in this single night, the darkest of all nights of her life.

Suddenly her laid back ears picked up the sounds of footsteps in the distance. Someone was coming down the hallway.

Coco closed her eyes, waiting motionless for the person to come. Hearing the steps coming closer and closer she wondered who was coming for her. Cortex himself? Or his trusted henchman N. Gin? One of the other scientists? Or would the doctor send one of his minions to finish her off?

Coco bit her lip. All in all she did not care for who was going to kill her, in fact her only concern was the question how they would do it. But then again nothing could ever top the pain she experienced in this very moment.

The footsteps had reached her cell. Waiting for her executioner to enter the female bandicoot tried to focus on the only thought that had kept her from going insane during the night.

When I'm dead I'll be with him again ... he'll wait for me in the light, take me by the hand and smile to me. And then we'll both step into this light that will finally bring the peace we've been waiting for so long ...

The door swung open, revealing a tall figure standing in the hallway.

Coco gasped when she realized who this figure was.

"What ... what are you doing here?"