Chapter Two

THE NEXT MORNING

Keomae woke up early and yawned. She rolled over and saw Kai watching her so she sat up and looked at him. "Uh…" "Bout time you woke up. I thought you were gonna sleep forever." He interrupted her. She smiled at him; even though he said stuff that was hurtful she knew he didn't mean it. He stood up and walked over to her and held out his hand. She grabbed it and he helped her up, "Today we'll be heading towards Ancient City. It's not too far from here. It should only take until a few days." He told her.

"What's in Ancient City? Why do we even need to go there?" She asked. "Uh because, no one will ever find you there. Only my friends and I know where it's hidden. You'll be perfectly safe there. That's why we need to go. There's not much they're though, just some old buildings and stuff." He answered nervously. Keomae thought it over then nodded, "Okay, if it means getting away from Tyson then lets do it." Kai let out a sigh of relief then nodded, "We'll leave as soon as we're done eating. In fact…"

He walked over to the corner of the room and hit the wall. A plank fell down and there behind the plank was a huge hole with a bunch of food in it. "Ta-da! This is our food storage. Pick anything you want, we can always get more." He said. Keomae smiled at him and walked over to him. She stuck her hand in the hole and pulled out 2 apples and a loaf of bread. Kai nodded to her so she went and sat down at the little picnic table and began to eat. Kai returned with a chicken leg and some other meat. They ate quietly not talking to each other at all.

After they were done they threw the leftovers into the garbage then they walked out the door. Kai grabbed the rope again and held out his hand…again. Keomae grabbed it and he pulled her against him then his tugged on the rope and it started going down but really slowly. Keomae loved every minute of her journey so far; she had made a new friend and escaped from Tyson's clutches. When their feet touched the ground Kai let go of the rope then let go of Keomae.

Keomae backed away then turned around, she was totally lost. "Uh, so which way do we go?" Kai smiled at her and grabbed both her shoulders and turned her Northward. "That way. Like I said before I will take until dark before we get there so we'd better start now." He said. Keomae nodded and he let go, they started walking towards the dark woods and other dangers but Kai was unafraid while Keomae was more freaked out then ever.

She started shivering so Kai walked next to her and leaned down and whispered into her ear; "There's nothing to be scared of, as long as I'm here nothing bad can happen to you." Keomae blushed a little when his breath first touched her ear and then even more when his lips accidentally brushed against her ear. Keomae nodded and stopped shivering so Kai backed off and went back into the lead.

They walked for about 3 hours only talking about little stuff. Then everything changed, there was a sound coming from behind them making Keomae nervous and Kai alert. Kai jumped high into the air and onto a huge boulder. Suddenly the bushes behind Keomae exploded and a giant bear with a long black tail came charging at Keomae. Keomae went pale then her eyes closed and she starting falling backwards. Kai leapt down and scooped her up and jumped back onto the boulder and set her there. He knew she had fainted so he just left her there and went to go deal with the bear.

He pulled out his sword and said, "You want to fight then it's a fight you're going to get." He rushed forward and slashed at the bear, it cut him in the shoulder making the bear fall back. Kai smiled then jumped up and held the sword down and stabbed the bear in the heart killing it instantly. Kai jumped off the bear and pulled out his sword then went back to Keomae. She was still unconscious so Kai picked her up bridal style and started walking northward once again.

Keomae woke up in Kai's arms about 2 hours later. She looked up at him and whispered, "Kai…" He looked down at her and smiled, "Hey, you're alive! I thought you were dead when you didn't wake up after the first 30 minutes. You've been unconscious for about 2 hours now. I'm glad you're okay though. Do you think you can walk?" Keomae nodded, "I can try. Thanks for saving me. It startled me a little too much for my liking."

Kai nodded and set her on her feet slowly. She stood up and started walking besides Kai but rather slowly. He never let her out of his sight, he couldn't or his mission would be ruined if anything other then he or his gang killed her. Keomae knew Kai was watching her but she didn't do anything about it cause it actually made her feel comfortable.

They didn't say much for a while then a huge red bird flew over them screeching loudly. "Geez, its like there's danger around every corner around here." Keomae commented. Kai laughed, "Yeah I know, isn't it great? This is where we used to train. That bird is called the Great Phoenix. It's like the guardian of these woods. He'll probably attack us once we're out in the open but for now we're safe." Keomae looked at him like he was crazy, and then she shook her head and looked forward again.

Kai noticed the sun was beginning to go down, they were almost there. He closed his eyes and thought, 'Why do I feel this way? I know once we get there she'll only be alive until tomorrow night; maybe that's why I feel like this. I don't want her to die. I should though, I was trained to want her dead but she's changed me, I'm so confused. I don't know what to do anymore.' "Kai?" Keomae asked.

Kai opened his eyes and looked at Keomae, she was way ahead of him. "You stopped. Is something wrong?" Keomae asked walking back to his side. Kai shook his head, "No, I was just thinking. Come on, we're just about there." He said quickly pulling into the lead once again. Keomae sighed and followed him, she was worried about him, for some reason she felt different around him.

The trees started getting smaller and now they could see the sun setting behind the mountains. The trees vanished and then they were in a huge field. "Where are we?" Keomae asked. Kai grinned at her, "We're almost there. It's just across this field. Remember what I said earlier? About the Great Phoenix?" Keomae nodded slowly, she stepped back and started looking at the sky.

Kai walked towards her and stood in front of really close. "This field is known at the Field of Death because the Great Phoenix always gets his victims here. You don't have to worry though, I'll protect you." Keomae gulped and nodded, she could feel her cheeks getting hot; she stepped back away from him and looked towards the setting sun.

Kai smirked then walked out into the field, Keomae ran to catch up with him. Keomae was really nervous, she didn't know if it was the phoenix or Kai that made her the most nervous. Keomae walked slower than Kai trying to stay out of his wondering eye.

Suddenly there was another loud screech, it was really close. Kai froze and turned around. The huge phoenix shot across the sky right above their heads. "It's gonna turn around, duck! I'll protect you!" Kai shouted above the loud screeching. Keomae dropped to her knees and couched low while Kai pulled out his sword and waited for the phoenix to come back for him. It turned around just like Kai had said. It shot at him going lower and lower as it neared him. It reached for Kai with its huge talons. Kai swung his sword at one of the talons but it only made the bird flinch.

It grabbed Kai around the waist and lifted him into the air. "Kai!" Keomae shouted jumping to her feet. Kai struggled to get free but it had him too well. Suddenly the phoenix flew upward then stopped about 100 feet in the air. Keomae gasped, she knew what was going to happen. She sprinted towards the bird but she wasn't fast enough. The bird screeched one last time and let go of Kai.

Kai started huddling towards the ground. Keomae gasped and cried, "KAI!" Kai hit the ground with a huge thud. Keomae ran towards him and pulled him out of the hole he had created. "Oh Kai. Please wake up, open your eyes." She cried. The phoenix circled above them ready to take another go at them.

She looked up at the bird though her teary eyes and heaved Kai onto her back. She started walking towards the trees then she started jogging. The phoenix followed but it looked bored like it wasn't that fun the first time. It opened its beak and made a weird sound like a caw/ meow. Then it turned and flew for the mountains.

Keomae walked slowly into the protection of the trees. She set Kai down gently and looked him over. His eyes were closed and he was unconscious. There was a cut under his eye that was bleeding, his clothes were ripped and there was blood on them as were as his arms, legs, chest, and face. Keomae let the tears pour out of her eyes and she knelt down beside him and gently pulled him close and held him tightly crying on his shoulder.

"Oh Kai. You did this for me. You took the blow instead of letting it take me. How can I ever thank you. Please don't die. I can't do this on my own. Please wake up. I won't leave you. Oh I'm so sorry Kai. You didn't even have to come with me and help me. Thank you so much Kai. Please…" She stayed like that for a while then she let him lean on a tree. She ripped pieces of clothing off of her gloves and shorts.

She started wrapping up his cuts to stop the bleeding, she knew if he lost any more blood he could die. Once she was sure there were no more big deep cuts she looked at the trees. She knew they couldn't stay on the ground in case something else was to come by.

She chose a tree with lots of branches and started climbing it. Every time she was safely on a branch she would look down on her savior. She finally picked the perfect spot and started placing loose branches across ones that were already stuck to the tree. Once she was done with that she tied a very long vine to a big strong branch. She let it fall to the ground then she slid down it. She went over to Kai and carefully tied the vine around his waist and legs.

She climbed back up the tree then started pulling the vine back. It took forever lifting Kai off the ground and up the tree and what made it even more difficult was that every time a branch got in the way Keomae would have to tie the vine again and go down and help him get around it. Finally he was right next to her floating in the air. She pulled him over to her and set him on the platform she had made. She untied him then dragged him over to a pile of leaves and set him on them.

She sat beside him and started crying again, "I'm so sorry. If I knew this was going to happen I never would have left home. Please wake up Kai. If you die I'll never forgive myself. Through this entire journey you've watched over me. How can I ever repay you? Kai…" She leaned against the tree and watched Kai all though the night.