It had been a couple of days since they landed at their hiding spot and Kale's training had been going well. They had used the AI to create several holograms for him to fight instead of sparing together. Kale had been to a store to pick up a new phone that Anubis had converted to a limited version of Kershala's implant like they had discussed. Kale was now able to communicate via the device with Kershala and the AI. Kale had gone back to the grocery store to stock up on supplies again and was still out. Luckily his former lover hadn't become a problem and he hadn't seen her since. The AI was confident it would only be another day or two before it was able to finish decrypting the device. Now that it had been able to devote its full processing power to the calculations for the last forty-eight hours it had decrypted forty-five percent of the information. The AI had ceased constant monitoring of their pursuers believing it no longer necessary. They were searching heavier outside the city than they were in, believing that they wouldn't come back, Kale's apartment was under constant surveillance, so they would likely never return to it.
Kershala was sitting on the roof; it had started to rain the night before and it hadn't stopped. He hadn't experienced this type of weather since arriving on the planet and it was a welcome change from the more recent dry heat of the days. They had been upstairs in the building the last few days and it had become unbearable for Kale. The second night they slept outside because it had been so hot inside. Lightning travelled across the sky and thunder roared overhead, despite the volume of the thunder Kershala found the weather to be relaxing. It reminded him of being home as during the fifth cycle it would often rain like this. He took his shirt off before coming outside so he could feel the cool of the water on his skin. It had been a couple of very sweaty nights and the water from the storm was better than nothing. The rain was starting to get heavier, Kershala tilted his head back and let the rain hit his face smiling to himself as he recalled childhood memories. The thunder cracked across the sky as Kale walked up the steps of the fire escape. Kershala stood up to aide him in carrying the items he had gotten them.
"What are you doing out here?" he asked as Kershala took some of the bags from his hands.
"Just enjoying the weather. I have not experienced rain on your planet yet," Kershala followed Kale inside, "Plus I thought that the rain may clean my skin a little."
"Yeah, we need a shower. I was thinking about that while I was out. There's a shelter down the street that should allow us to use the facilities to get cleaned up. Wanna head down and see if they let us in?" Kale sat the items beside the couch and turned to face Kershala as he slid his shirt on.
"Lead the way," said Kershala stepping aside and gesturing to the door. Kale smiled at him and headed passed him. Kershala followed him out and they walked out into the rain that wasn't showing any sign of slowing down. They walked down into the street and walked quickly toward their destination.
"It's only a few blocks away," said Kale wrapping his arms around him. "Should have grabbed an umbrella from the donation box that night. Wasn't even thinking about the rain."
"It is nice, I like the rain. I have fond memories of it." Kershala put his hand out letting the rain fall against his palm as they walked. The water seemed warmer now that his clothing had soaked through.
"You'll have to tell me sometime." Kale smiled at him as they walked, it wasn't long before they reached their destination. The building was smaller than Kershala expected, it seemed to be just a regular residence from the outside. He could tell through his implant that the inside had been vastly remodeled and only seemed to have a few be it very large rooms. He could see several heat signatures in the building, two large open rooms with a large amount of beds with people in most of them and a couple of people seemed to be up and moving around. Kale stopped at the door. "This is it. Let me do the talking okay? Try not to let them see your eyes. They may think you're under the influence." Kershala nodded in acknowledgment and Kale pushed the door open. They stepped in out of the rain and a young woman walked up to them from a reception desk. There was a young man sitting beside where she had gotten up from, he greeted them with a smile. Kershala avoided eye contact as he had been told.
"You guys look lost," she said, "Just trying to get out of the rain?"
"Yeah, it's really coming down, eh?" said Kale. "We were hoping for a place to shower if that's okay? We're new to town."
"We don't really have any beds left right now, but your welcome to shower and get cleaned up." The woman walked back to the desk and looked over a book that lay on the desk in front of the young man sitting there. "I'll just need to sign you guys in. Do you have any ID?"
"Honestly we lost all that in a car accident on the way to town. The car flipped, and I barely made it out, but I had to sacrifice my pack," Kale lied.
"That's fine I don't really need it if you're not staying. We have you on camera anyway." Kershala felt his heart sink as she pointed to a camera watching the door. He silently cursed himself for not checking before they walked through the door, having been more focused on the people and the layout of the building.
"Oh, that's cool."
"Yeah, they're old," she laughed, "They still use tapes apparently, hard to believe anyone uses that anymore." Kale picked up a pencil from the desk and wrote something in the sign in book. Kershala used his implant to scan the system they used, and the tapes wouldn't be an issue to dispose of but he would have to come back after to deal with it.
"Yeah I didn't think those still existed." Kale sat the pencil on the desk. "Where are the showers at?"
"I'll show you," said the young man standing from his seat. "Come on." He started walking away from them and both began to follow. Kershala passed a glance at Kale as they walked, they seemed to be heading to the back of the building, he could see that there was no one else there now. They walked into the bathroom, the walls were lined with shower stalls and metal lockers sat in the center of the room. "There's pump soap at each of the units," the young man walked over and unlocked a closet door with a key ring, he opened it and pulled two towels from it. "Here's a towel each just throw it in the pile in the corner when your done with it okay?"
"Great, thank you." Kale took both towels in hand. The young man smiled at them then walked back to where they came from.
"Do you think we should be worried about the cameras?" asked Kale, quietly.
"I do not think so, if need be I can come back and wipe them later."
"They probably erase themselves after a day or so." Kershala scanned the camera and indeed Kale was right they were on a limited cycle of use. "Okay, let's do what we came here for." Kale passed Kershala a towel and walked into the shower stall. Kershala followed his lead and stepped into the stall next door.
"There are a lot of people sleeping here," said Kershala. "Is homelessness a big problem on this planet?" Kershala was sure that their conversation wouldn't drift beyond the two of them. He draped his towel over the door and began to strip from his clothing.
"Honestly, aside from war, it's probably our biggest problem," answered Kale from the other side of the stall. Kershala could hear him shuffling around as he prepared for his shower.
"That is a shame to hear." Kershala looked at his shirt in his hands before hanging it on the door. The water started in Kale's shower and there was the sound of a scuffle. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, that water starts out pretty cold though. God damn, that's cold." Kershala laughed quietly to himself at the thought of Kale making such a fuss over the water. As he turned the shower on though he quickly realized what he meant. He didn't shuffle around as much as Kale, but he could see why he had. "Did you just laugh at me?" Kershala could hear the light-hearted tone in his voice as he spoke.
"Maybe I did." The water began to warm up shortly as he started to lather up with the provided soap. "You humans are so sensitive."
"I know you did not just call ME sensitive." There was a sound of water pooling in something when Kershala suddenly felt cold water dump over him. Kale had filled up something from his shower and dumped it on him then laughed. Kershala finished lathering and quickly rinsed, he stepped to the side and turned the water on completely cold. "At least you know when your beat," laughed Kale. Kershala pulled the nanites from his implant and used them to hold a large volume of water. He hoisted himself up on the stall, he could see Kale with his head down as he washed his hair. Kershala didn't pull pranks often, but he did have brothers, so he knew how to play the game should the opportunity arise. He proceeded to dump about a gallon of icy water on Kale before recalling the nanites. Kale jumped caught off guard. "Sweet hell!" he shouted as he bounded to one side. Kershala lowered himself back into his stall and shut the water off.
"Let that be a lesson to you," he said calmly as he began drying himself off.
"I don't know when, but I will pay you back for that," he laughed. Kershala smiled to himself as he dried off. He realized as he picked up his clothing that it was still wet, except for his undergarment. He kept the door closed and called out the nanites moving them to his clothing and having them emit dry heat, steam rolled from the clothing and was quickly dry. He dressed himself and stepped out of the stall. Kale was still finishing up.
"Are your clothes wet?"
"Not really. Yours?"
"Not anymore, I used the nanites to dry them." Kale opened the door and stepped out fully dressed.
"Mine are okay, I wasn't sitting out in the rain very long." Kale leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, he could feel his heart flutter at the touch of his lips. "That shower was great though, just what I needed. Should we get out of here?" There was a sound of something falling in another room, followed by the scream of a women and a man yelling. Kale looked toward the noise. "The hell was that?" Without an answer he immediately followed the sound of the noise, Kershala followed close behind him and they walked into one of them sleeping quarters. A man was pointing a weapon at the young women who greeted them at the desk.
"Why the fuck are you going through my shit bitch!" the man holding the weapon yelled.
"I wasn't going through your stuff I was just sitting it to the side!" the girl cried. The young man that showed them the showers came running in and the man turned his weapon toward them at the doorway. Other patrons were starting to wake up but froze as they realized what was happening. Kershala instinctually put himself between Kale and the weapon. It was only a small fire arm, nowhere near the size of what they had seen at the military installation, but its deadly force seemed the same.
"What's going on in here?" said the young man.
"Don't fucken come near me! This bitch was goin through my shit!" He gestured toward the women with the weapon, Kershala was waiting for his chance to rush the man and disarm him but didn't want to risk anyone. The women screamed as he pointed the weapon toward her.
"Hey man can you just calm down?" asked Kale, "You know she's here to help us, right? That's literally her job. She doesn't need someone shoving a gun in her face." The man looked at Kale and seemed to be thinking over the scenario while keeping the gun pointed at her. Kershala's implant could detect erratic distortions in his physiology that he had not seen in any other human before. The brain chemistry was different, off balance from what it should be, the readings were telling him that the neurotransmitters in the hippocampus were imbalanced. There was no reasoning in this individual in his current state, he wouldn't be able to grasp it.
"Fuck you man, it wasn't your shit she was stealing!" Kershala looked around the room for something to use to faulter the man, hopefully stopping him from discharging the weapon.
"Look man we need you to calm down, if you kill someone we can't help you," said the young man. Kershala quietly deployed the nanites to his chest area, linking them with his implant to help them predict where to cover him should the man get a shot off. He knew he could likely dodge the shot, but it would risk someone else getting hit. He could feel the nanites crawling around on his chest as the man's stance shifted. The man's hand wavered and Kershala could tell that the angle his weapon was at would miss the women and hit the wall if the gun went off. He pushed the younger man down to hopefully remove him from the line of fire and rushed the aggressor. The weapon went off as Kershala grabbed at it, he could hear the projectile crashing into the wood of the wall sending splinters back at them, the woman screamed and fell to her knees, likely in fear and shock. Kershala grabbed the gun from the man's hand and put him down hard enough to pacify him but not enough to seriously injure him. The young man rushed to the woman's side to make sure she was okay.
"Are you okay?" he asked her. She was crying hysterically on the floor as he got her. He put his arms around her and looked at Kershala. "Are you crazy how did you do that?" The remainder of the people that hadn't woken up were now awake and panicking. Kershala shot a glance to Kale, and they both new it was time to leave. Police would likely arrive on the scene soon. Kershala dropped the weapon to the floor away from the man who now lay unconscious and the two of them ran out of the building together. As they exited the building they could already hear sirens blaring the lights were just down the street.
"If they see us in the area they'll stop us." Kershala scooped Kale up with ease and ran down an alleyway. "Jeez what're you…" Kershala jumped the boundary and landed on the other side.
"Hang on tight." Kershala ran at the wall of the building and propelled himself from the wall to the building on the other side. Keeping the momentum, it wasn't long before they were on the roof. "They likely will not look for us up here." The rain had stopped at some point since they arrived at the shelter, but it hadn't been stopped long as there were still puddles collecting on the low points of the roof and roads. With a little effort and a few hops and bounds they made it back to their hideout, Kershala sat Kale down as they landed.
"That's going to put some unwanted heat on the neighborhood for the next few days," said Kale. He walked to the edge of the building and stayed low to look out over the buildings edge in the direction of the shelter. There were several law enforcement vehicles out front, their blue and red lights flashing in sequence. "I really hope they don't get those tapes, even with our faces were covered there's no way they won't know that's you if the wrong people see it. Can't believe how fast you can move when you need to." Kershala opened the door and waited for Kale.
"Even if they do they will not be able to find us right away. We should stay inside for a few days and wait out the commotion. The AI will be able to keep their records from being utilized." Kale looked back at him before walking into the hideout.
"I hope you're right." Kershala could feel the AI interfacing with his implant as they got in the door.
"How are we to stay un-seen if you inject yourself into situations that will attract unwanted attention?" it scolded. He could hear the frustration in its voice. "And they are using closed circuit recording devices. I cannot erase them remotely."
"They are primitive recording devices and despite what happened they will likely get no identification from them. Our faces stayed hidden," explained Kershala as he sat down.
"And your unabashed rescue of those involved? What human has the capability to move as you do?" Kershala knew it was right, but he saw no point in arguing the facts.
"It is done now, how do we fix it?" asked Kershala.
"Even if they do see us in the video, they won't just put it out there for people to see. There's a process to an investigation like that. It'll probably be a few days before we even hear about it to be honest. No one got hurt and the aggressor was dealt with and likely apprehended by now I might add," explained Kale. "And the videos those things captured is probably not very clear anyway. I doubt your movement would look like much on there." Kale sat down beside Kershala and turned to face the AI that hovered above them still engaged with the device. "Let's just lay low for the next few days and if we have to deal with it we can. At the rate you're going on that decryption you'll probably be through it before it becomes an issue anyway." Kershala could tell that Kale was trying to compliment the AI, he knew it wouldn't take it that way, but he admired the effort. Kershala stood up and stepped into the middle of their living area.
"We should spar some more," Kershala smiled, "while your adrenaline is still pumping." Kershala had performed the Jadak'tora with Kale once more since their initial training session. It was somewhat difficult for him to train him in Daoran combat methods since he was limited by the strength and agility differences in humans. Although he had improved having learned improvisation and combat integration.
"Awe, but we just got cleaned up," said Kale sarcastically. "I have a better idea." Kale stood up and went to the bag of groceries he had brought back earlier. "I meant to tell you I got this for us." Kale reached in and pulled out a pair of scissors, a razor and shaving cream. "We could both use a trim. Couldn't hurt to change our appearance a little either." Kershala stroked at the beard that had grown out on his face significantly since they had originally cleaned it up. It was not as thick as the first time, but it was certainly starting to look unkempt. Kale walked over to him and tugged at it playfully, before kissing him on the lips. "Keeps growing like that I might start calling you daddy," he laughed. Kershala didn't understand the reference entirely but smiled anyway. Kale's facial hair hadn't grown much but the fact it was present at all was different as he had none when they first met. Kale sat the stuff down next to their make shift bed. "Come on it'll help us stay hidden." Kershala sat down next to him on the bed.
Kale went about setting up everything he needed. He had to shave them both, but he figured he should do Kershala's first since it would likely take more time. He had purchased some plastic cups and he filled a few of them up to use for rinsing their tools and faces. He used the scissors to cut open the razors he purchased and sat one of them in the water to soak while he would trim Kershala's face with the scissors first.
"It probably won't be as comfortable as last time. I couldn't find the pre-shave stuff we used before," said Kale as he sat down across from Kershala. He sat the shaving cream next to him and put a small bucket in front of him that he had purchased, he filled it halfway with water. He had been stocking up on water the last few days anticipating having to potentially sponge bath to get clean, luckily it hadn't come to that as he thought of the shelter while he was out tonight. "Wet your face with this." Kershala slid off his shirt and sat it on the bed next to him before reaching into the bucket hands cupped to wet his face. Kale looked at Kershala's face for a few minutes trying to think of a way to make him appear different without having to do too much hand work. "I'm thinking we should just shave it off…"
"I would like to keep it as last time."
"It'll grow back though. As it stands right now people are looking for a man with a thick beard. You won't fit their description anymore that way." Kershala let out a discontent sigh and looked down at the bucket.
"You are right. But I am not happy with this."
"I like the beard too. I'm just trying to be practical you know."
"That does not mean I have to like it."
"Hold still." Kale picked up the scissors and started cutting at away at Kershala's beard trying to be quick but careful. "Man, hard to believe how far we've come since we did this that night," he said as he cut away the beard. "You know you made my heart flutter that night."
"I know," said Kershala. Kale stopped and looked at him for a second. "The implant showed me your vitals, I just didn't know what it meant at the time." Kale smiled and started cutting again.
"That's super embarrassing. Basically, tells me that anytime I've had some kind of reaction to you, you could see it."
"Yes," Kershala paused as Kale continued trimming, "Why is that embarrassing?"
"It's hard to explain. A lot of the guys in my generation grew up scared to show a lot of their emotions. Especially when it comes to intimacy with other boys. It's just not how you're supposed to act."
"That is a shame. Children should be free to express how they feel no matter who it is to." Kale trimmed the last of the longer hair from Kershala's face. He picked up the shaving cream and took some in his palm, worked it into a lather in both of his hands then started applying it to Kershala's face. He watched as Kershala closed his eyes as he did the first time.
"You really like the way that feels eh? I remember the first time we did this you seemed to really like it then too."
"Yes," Kershala kept his eyes closed as he spoke, and Kale massaged the cream to his face, "It is relaxing. When you have been hit in the face as much as I have you come to appreciate the soft touch of another. And now that we are bonded on a deeper level, it is that much better." Kale had to hold himself back, the words as Kershala spoke them were exciting him. "I see it is that much better for you as well." Kershala peaked at him through one eye and smiled.
"God dammit. You sexy alien." Kale rinsed his hands in the bucket and picked up the razor he had soaked, then began running it carefully over Kershala's face. Without worrying about a style, the process was much quicker. As he shaved he couldn't help but notice how much of a baby face Kershala had underneath his beard. "Who'd of thought there'd be a babyface under there?" he laughed.
"What do you mean?" Kershala gave him a bewildered look.
"You have such a young face under all that facial hair." Kale dipped the razor in the bucket to continue the process and it wasn't long before it was done. "Smooth as glass." Kershala picked up the shaving cream and put some of it in his hand. At first Kale was caught off guard when he started massaging it onto his face. "I suppose it is my turn," he laughed. Kershala's gentle hands moved across his face and neck his fingers seemingly dancing across his skin. Kershala tilted his head back slightly and seemingly looked down his nose at him as he rubbed his face making sure to cover everything as Kale had done with him.
"Close your eyes," said Kershala quietly. Kale listened and shut his eyes feeling Kershala's thumb on his cheek bones. He massaged in a circular motion the feeling was different, he had never had anyone do this to him before. Kershala took his hands away and Kale opened his eyes. "Pass me the razor."
"Oh, that's okay, I can do it from here," said Kale picking up the razor.
"I would like to do it for you." Kale paused for a second, he felt like Kershala wanted to give him the same experience that he had.
"Okay." Kale spoke quietly and slowly passed him the razor. "Short strokes okay, rinse the razor every couple." Kershala did as he was told every few strokes cleaning the blade. Kale moved his head to make it easier to reach. He had never put this much trust in someone before, with Kershala's strength it wouldn't be hard for him to press to hard and cut him, but he didn't. He was perfectly gentle and seemed to know exactly what he was doing even though he had never done it before. "You seem to really know what you're doing."
"I know, you were hesitant at first." Kale stayed silent as Kershala continued and it wasn't long before he was finished. Kershala sat the razor down on the floor and brushed the back of his hand across Kales face. "Much better." He smiled as Kale leaned in for a kiss, he took Kershala's face in his hands and as their lips touched he remembered how much he loved kissing a man after a fresh shave. Kale kissed him on his cheek then his lips and then started to get a little more heated moving into a French kiss. He attempted to push him back on the bed getting caught up in the moment and seemingly forgetting what they had been doing. As he moved forward he knocked over the bucket they had set up spilling the contents all over the side of the bed. He stopped and looked down at the floor half smiling but also half embarrassed for getting so caught up.
"Shit." He pulled back, stood up quickly and threw one of his shirts on top of the water. "Well that coulda been fun." He laughed in frustration.
"There will always be time," Kershala laughed as he stood up and gave Kale a half hug from the side and kiss on the cheek. He grabbed a rag from a box and came back over to help clean up the mess. They wiped up the mess and replaced the blankets that had been soiled before bedding down for the night as they realized it was four in the morning.
Kale opened his eyes to the dimly lit room; the room was incredibly warm as it often was as they slept. It was likely somewhere around one in the afternoon and he could tell it was close to ninety degrees in the upstairs un-air-conditioned hide out. They had been sleeping uncovered for most nights as it was so there wasn't really any way to get any cooler that he hadn't already done. Kale lay on his back with his head resting on Kershala's shoulder with his forearm across his chest. He slowly moved his arm and sat up, Kershala was unphased and didn't wake up. Kale took a deep breath as he stood up and got a drink of water. He did his best to stay hydrated since there was nothing they could really do to fight the heat otherwise. They couldn't open the door during the day as someone may find it suspicious and investigate. He took his new phone from the table next to the couch and sat back on their bed next to Kershala. He knew he wasn't going to be getting right back to sleep and found himself thinking about his life before all of this started happening. He still hadn't really found out what was said about him once he went missing. He used the phone to search for his profile on Facebook he tapped his profile picture on the screen and it was suddenly like looking back from beyond the grave. There were tons of messages on his profile from his friends and family. Can't believe you're gone how can this even be real? A post from a friend he hadn't seen since they moved away. It's hard to believe such a thing could happen in our tiny city RIP friend. A post from a co-worker he was close with. I'm so mad at everything, why did you even have to go there? It's not fair! Rest easy sweet angel. A post from his closest cousin. Rest in Peace man can't believe your gone. A guy he was close with in high school and would often see around his home town. To my buddy, I'm so sad that you're gone I don't even know what to do with myself. I get mad when I think that you were taken from us so soon and so violently. I really thought we would get old together and raise kids together. I don't know what happened but I'm sure you were trying to help when you passed. You were my best friend and I love you rest in peace. A message from Miranda. Kale lay there and felt tears come to his eyes, his life would never be the same again. He missed his friends and it was unimaginable that he would end up in a position where he would be looking at messages that his friends left him after he died. He sniffled lightly as he continued to scroll, he couldn't believe the messages. There were people leaving him messages that he hadn't talked to in years. He continued scrolling through the feed and eventually got to an article that had been posted about the incident, it was labelled as a two-minute read by the poster. He took a deep breath and couldn't help but feel anxious as he read the title to himself. City Devastated in Attack, Countless Injured Three Left Dead. He clicked on the article and it loaded quickly.
Suspected Terrorist Attack on Citadel left dozens of Parks Canada employees severely injured.
Officials say a soldier wearing a type of experimental body armor attacked the Citadel today using a weapon of unknown origin. It was brought down on the Citadel at approximately 1030 am the morning of May 20th. The resulting explosion severely injured most of the staff on duty that day. Sadly, the attending shift supervisors Peter Beebe, and Joelle Keddy were left dead as well as private security officer Kale Jarin, who died trying to get others to safety.
Virus Preventing Footage from Being Shown.
It seems as though a virus was also unleashed into the recording software the military and city uses as none of the footage from that day has survived to be shown. Even here at Global News all our footage from the helicopter cameras was unusable. This form of cyber terrorism has not been seen before and we have our own experts examining the virus.
No Terrorists Groups Claim Attack.
As of the writing of this article no significant terrorist group has come forward to claim responsibility for the attack. The soldier was subdued but we are told that the armor seemed to have a malfunction and killed the user, leaving no identifiable remains.
We will update as more information becomes available.
Kale wiped at his eyes to push back the tears, he couldn't believe that they had basically just erased his existence with a few sentences in an article. He thought about never seeing his grandmother again and how much pain she must have gone through to hear that he passed in such a way. The thought that the government was responsible for it was terrifying and showed what they were capable of. He couldn't help but wonder that if he had tried to contact his family or friends would they be in danger. Kale sat his phone down and curled up with his pillow in his arms the tears ran freely now despite his best efforts to keep them in. He felt himself shaking as he cried to himself, he had just lost his entire family and they weren't even dead. He laid there for a few minutes crying to himself before he felt Kershala's arm wrap around his chest. Kershala cuddled in close to him and enveloped him in a full embrace, he felt Kershala's lips press gently on his cheek a wave of comfort flushed through him like nothing he had ever felt before.
"I can feel your pain Kale," Kershala whispered, "I feel it as you do, it woke me." Kale looked back at Kershala to see tears in his eyes as well. Kale hadn't thought about how Kershala came to him in the first place for a long time.
"I'm sorry, I know they're still alive, but I feel like I won't ever see them again," Kale spoke through his tears.
"I once grieved as you do now, I am here for you. As you were there for me," Kershala comforted and brought his hand to Kale's cheek. They looked at each other for a few drawn out seconds when the markings on Kershala's body began glowing faintly.
"What are you doing?" asked Kale quietly.
"Think of your happiest memories you shared with your family and close your eyes." Kale was confused at first before he realized that Kershala was initiating the Jadak'tora. Now that he had become skilled with it there had been very few ill affects on Kale's body. He closed his eyes and tried his best to think of happy memories with his friends and family. "It may be jumbled at first." Kershala reposition Kale on his back and straddled him, Kale instinctually placed his hand on Kershala's implant and the glow intensified. The familiar sensation began travelling Kale's arm as he closed his eyes, Kershala leaned in and kissed him before placing their foreheads together with his hand on the back of Kale's neck. The sensation intensified but before anything happened Kale could feel it travelling his arm and seemingly causing his brain to buzz. It was a different sensation then before. Kale felt a bead of sweat fall from Kershala's forehead as he seemed to be straining.
"Are you okay?" Kale whispered.
"It is more difficult than I imagined," said Kershala through strained breaths. Kale suddenly felt the sensation solidify from his hand to his head and there was a brief pause.
He opened his eyes and he and Kershala were laying in the grass at the big pond. It was strange at first as Kershala got up off him, he didn't think there was any significant memory at this particular location. He stood up and looked around, Kershala didn't seem to be aware of him as they stood in the open. He looked up into the sky to see nothing but blackness, it was strange because everything seemed to be illuminated as if it were mid-day.
"Kershala, what is thi…" Kale didn't finish his sentence before he was pulled from where he stood by some unknown force, he seemed to be flying at an incredibly high speed, but it was backwards. He recognized all the places he passed, the old bowling alley, the community college, the pizza place downtown, and his old high school. There was a flash of light and he was standing in front of his grandmother, she had just taken a picture of him, a dog that he recognized as Chino, the last dog she had before Rhodie, a husky, took off running ahead of him. Kale looked at himself he was his eight-year-old self. His grandmother walked over to him and kissed him on the cheek, the smell of her perfume flooded his nose it was the same scent she always wore.
"That was a wonderful picture," she said standing up and looking to the dog, "Chino don't you go too far!" This memory was the time they went for a hike with the dog. He spent a lot of time with his grandmother, they would often go for hikes in different locations around the province when he was younger. As he got older they drifted apart but he often spent holidays at her place instead of his parents. Anytime he was home for extended periods he always made sure to check in at least once. As she took his hand he felt overcome with the joy as he often did when they were together. As she pulled him along he caught the shadow of a man sitting in a large tree, Kershala was watching them. The dog ran back to them and jumped on him knocking him backwards. He began laughing uncontrollably outside of his own power as the dog began licking his face, it became clear he was just watching the memory play out. Chino was his favourite of the dogs his grandmother had since he was born, the whole family was sad when he passed. But this was indeed his favourite memory of him and his grandmother. "Oh Chino, stop that you foolish dog!" His grandmother shooed the dog away and it ran away playfully again. His grandmother pulled him to his feet and the memory ended presumably as he was zipped away from her again moving outside of his own power.
He landed in a vehicle, it didn't take him long to realize it was his friend Miranda's first car. An old 1995 Toyota Tercel, an ugly green sedan that they ended up driving into the ground. They had gone so many places in this vehicle and had so many memories he was trying to figure out which one was his favourite. There were two guys from school in the back one that Kale had a crush on and one that was part of their regular circle. They were driving outside of town in a farming area, he was starting to recognize the memory as they pulled into an old church parking lot. It was the middle of the night, he looked at the clock on the dashboard, but he couldn't read the numbers. He was a teenager he looked in the mirror above him to check his hair and Miranda glanced at him and held back a laugh. He smiled back at her as they all got out of the vehicle. Kale looked down at himself as he stood he was wearing his favorite hoody and some jeans that were just baggy enough to be stylish for the early 2000's. They walked to the back of the vehicle and Ryder, the guy he had his first boy crush on sat on the back of the car. Kale leaned on the car next to him and Miranda and Andrew stood across from them.
"Got the good stuff this time, my sister said it's better than medical grade," said Andrew reaching into his hoody. This was the first time the Kale had smoked marijuana, he glanced back at the church and could see Kershala clearly perched on the churches roof. Andrew took out the marijuana and Miranda passed him her pipe. As they prepped it Kale found himself staring at Ryder, they had been talking for awhile, everyone knew Kale's preferences varied. He remembered the awkward phone conversation he had to convince him to join them. Andrew took a puff off the bowl and passed it to Kale, he copied Andrew and remembered the burning sensation in his throat that caused him to cough.
"Gonna make it?" asked Ryder putting his arm around him and pulling him in to a half hug. Kale could feel the heat in his face as he blushed at Ryder's touch. He was somewhat thankful for the minimal light provided by the street lamp in the church lot.
"I'm good, I'm good," he laughed but didn't pull from his arm while passing him the pipe. Ryder took a puff from the pipe and didn't bat an eye at it as he passed it off to Miranda.
"You guys look pretty cozy." Kale looked at Ryder and he looked over at him and smiled as Miranda took a hit off the pipe.
"Meh, I was kinda cold," he shrugged. Kale giggled at the comment and instantly recalled a feeling of embarrassment but also total happiness in infatuation. "Hey gimme another hit." Ryder laughed and took the pipe inhaling the smoke and blowing it seductively in Kale's face.
"What're you doing?" Kale laughed waving away the smoke and pulling back from his grip.
"I thought you might do better getting a contact high, burns a little less." He stopped and kinda stared at him for a moment.
"Andrew come with me, I'm cold." Miranda grabbed Andrew's hand and pulled him toward the front of the vehicle.
"Hey, hey, I want more of that, what're you doing?" Ryder passed him the pipe before he was out of arms reach and Kale watched the two of them get in the vehicle. This was part of why she was his best friend. She always gave him the extra push to go for what he wanted regardless if it was good for him or not, and if it wasn't good for him she was always there to pick up the pieces.
"I've never been out here this late at night before," said Ryder looking up at the sky.
"Yeah we don't come out here a lot. We just knew it would be quiet." Kale moved to be standing in front of him.
"Was this your plan all along? Get me out here in the dark all alone?" asked Ryder with a smirk on his face.
"No," Kale laughed, "To be honest it was more likely hers… to get us both out here all alone." Ryder got down from the vehicle and took a step in Kale's direction. Kale recalled the anxiousness that took over him as he got close, not sure if he was going to hit him or just get back into the car. He could feel his heart racing. "I know this is weird for you." With that Ryder grabbed Kale by the arm and pulled him into a kiss, he barely remembered this night, but it was flooding back to him. He remembered Ryder's hands gliding over his body as they kissed, he remembered his heart fluttering in his chest and most importantly he remembered this as his first kiss with a boy and it was staged by his best friend. The memory ended there, and Kale could feel the buzzing sensation in his arm again, he opened his eyes in time to have Kershala collapse on him in exhaustion.
"Are you okay? What's wrong?" he asked getting up on one elbow. As he hoisted himself he couldn't help but feel slightly dizzy. Kershala was breathing but silent. "Kershala?" The AI hovered over and performed a scan on his body.
"He is sleeping. The implant could not continue to process your memories, so it protected itself and his mind," it explained.
"Anubis, what's going on? How did he know earlier that I was upset?" Kale moved slowly and got himself out from under Kershala and did his best to make sure he was comfortable.
"A combination of the night you bonded, and the number of times you have joined in the Jadak'tora has caused a connection to form between you and Kershala. Though you may never feel his, he can empathically feel your stronger emotions as you experience them." Kale was caught off guard by the statement.
"Is that okay? It won't hurt him will it?" he asked.
"Not physically as for the mental effects, there has obviously been no case to compare it to. We simply do not know." Kale found the statement unsettling but at this point there was nothing that could be done about it. "I suggest you get some sleep. The method Kershala used to access your memories can have severe side effects."
"Great…" Kale rolled over on his side and put his hand on Kershala's back closing his eyes.