Epilogue
The Funeral.
----
The sun shone through the maple and oak trees, casting its broken light over the emerald grass. Orange leaves littered the floor, bathed in the golden glow of the afternoon sun. Small birds flitted in and out of the foliage, singing to each other their evening harmony and completely ignoring the somber gathering below. The cemetary was one of radient beauty, even though it was a place where the dead rested, undisturbed until the earth decomposed and accepted them back into its loving bosom.
Many people gathered around a small casket, ready to be lowered into the hollow beneath it. Kai stared at the polished and elaborately decorated box, guilt creeping over his very being. He was not with the crowd, but lingered in the shadows near a large Maple. He wore his usual attire but this time, it was completely clean and neat. His scarf which fluttered playfully in the soft breeze had been bleached and ironed and Kai had not worn his fingerless, black gloves. He some how wished he was able to remove the cobalt tattoo's on his cheeks, feeling they were very disrespectful.
His crimson eyes scanned over the people at the bottom of the small slope on which he stood. He could see Hilary, Daichi, Ray, Max and Tyson within the crowd. Hilary was in tears and the boys' watery beeds on their cheeks glinted in the dusk light. He noticed another girl in black beside Hilary. Her bright orange hair immediately told him it was Emily from the PPB Allstars. She was crying, almost in histerics.
Kai next spotted Kenny's family. Kenny's mother had her face in her husbands chest. Kai had no doubt she was crying her eyes out. Her husband wrapped his arms around her and looked at his son's coffin. Beside the parents was a smaller boy. Kai saw the brunette hair and knew immediately it was Kenny's five year old brother, Louis. The little boys loud voice reached Kai's ears and made him feel even worse.
"Mama? Papa? Why they put Ken-Ken into the box?" Louis asked in confusion.
Kai saw his father bend down and talk to him in hushed tones.
"But Ken-Ken has to come home!" Louis argued. "How can he come out of the box? He'll be mad with you!"
Kai heard Kenny's mother's crying escalate and turned his back on the buriel. He leaned back against the Maple and breathed hard, his chest tight and his heart in pain. He had felt this way before. He remembered the feeling when he saw Tyrone dead in his cell. He hated the feeling and tried commanding it to leave. He had no such luck and instead, the pain festered and grew into an all-out bodily infection.
"Are you going to continue hiding up here? Or are you going to join the others?"
Kai looked up and saw Tala standing in front of him. He also wore his regular clothes and, like Kai's, they looked brand new.
"I'm not hiding." Kai growled.
He stood upright again and stared darkly at Tala.
"What are you doing here anyway?"
"Believe it or not," Tala said, "I am Kenny's friend too. Well... aquaintance. We respected each other and I am upset about his death too Kai."
"Then why aren't you down there?" Kai asked.
Tala shrugged.
"Looks like your hiding too." Kai concluded.
"I'll go down if you go." Tala said, gazing down at the people.
"I'm not sure if Kenny's parents would want me there." Kai muttered.
"How do you figure that?"
"If it weren't for me, Kenny would probably still be alive. If I didn't mess around, maybe he wouldn't have been shot."
"So thats all you're going to do? Wallow in your own guilt and self-hatred and miss Kenny's funeral just because you think it's your fault he died? News flash Kai, you didn't pul the trigger. Omen did." Tala looked at him with accusing eyes. "You can bitch about yourself and your mistakes and all that false shit you believe, everyday until you die. But Kenny's funeral, thats on only today. It's not going to happen again. This is your last chance to say good bye to him. You may be speaking through a wooden lid, but its better than speaking through four feet of dirt."
Kai remained silent. Tala was right, even though he would never admit it. The silence decended upon them like a dark shadow.
"So what are we going to do?" Tala asked quietly.
Kai sighed and started down the hill.
"We have a funeral to go to."
Tala gave a sad smile and followed.
----
Hilary held Emily's hand tight. Her black, knee high dress blew softly. Her black heels sank into the soil but she didn't care. Emily's longer black dress was flecked with small moist drops from the tears which fell from her chin.
Daichi was trying his hardest not to burst out into tears. He bit his bottom lip until he tasted blood. He wiped his face on the back of his black jacket sleeve.
Tyson didn't care that the younge red-head was using his child-hood suit as a tissue. He just gazed numbly at the casket.
Ray and Max stood either side of him and Daichi. The priest's words drifted through one ear and out through the other for the boys, not lingering long enough to even register to them. Ray attempted to listen but found it too hard and, like the others, kept reliving the memories of the good times they all spent with the young teen.
Hilary couldn't stop her flow of tears but gave a faint, half-hearted smile when she remembered the time she and Kenny had taken Tyson's Dragoon for a tune-up without telling him and he ripped the place apart looking for his precious blade. Her smile quickly faded and her shoulders shook from the grief.
'Why?' She thought, 'Why did Kenny have to die? It's not fair! He never did anything to ever harm any one else! He did nothing to deserve this.'
She looked around the congregation. Kai was no where to be seen. She bit her lip and begged her eyes to see him, but she didn't. He wasn't there.
'Why isn't Kai here?' She thought, 'He should be here for Kenny's buriel. That jerk.'
The priest suddenly closed his book and silence stole over them.
"Would anyone like to say a few words?"
The silence lingered.
"Any one?"
"I have something to say."
The crowd looked around in search of the speaker. Hilary turned and gave a soft smile. Kai made his way through the crowd with Tala following behind him. Kai walked pass Hilary and grasped her hand briefly before continuing his procession, halting beside the priest. He stared at the priest until the funeral leader stepped away, feeling intimidated by the almost sinister, crimson eyes. Kai shifted his gaze back over the audience of grievers, not feeling as crowded and uncomfortable now that the priest had stepped away. He didn't like priests. He figured it was because he had done so much bad in his life that he knew that regardless of the amount of confession time he spent, no preist would be able to forgive him his sins. He also disliked them because priests were linked to Abbot's and Abbot's controlled Abbey's.
Kai cleared his throat, his stolid composure as strong as ever but sorrow braided through his words.
"Kenny was my friend," Kai started, not so sure of what to say. "Now that I think about it, I didn't deserve to call him my friend. After everything I did to him and my friends, he still found it in himself to forgive me, even when I couldn't forgive myself. I blame myself for his death, and I don't think anything my friends say will convince me otherwise. Kenny didn't deserve to die. But the place he will go to is better than this world. In this plain of existence, there is torture, death and evil. A person like Kenny didn't deserve to live in such a cruel place. He is in a better place, I know it..."
Kai stopped for a moment, not sure of how to proceed. He kept thinking of the words he'd rehersed all day but didn't know whether or not to share them. He swallowed and took the chance.
"You are safe from all these trials, man's sorrow, hate and rage.
You'll forever be young, never tarnished or bruised by age.
You were the glue to our team, you helped us all stay strong,
Even when we split, you made our friendship carry on.
I never really thanked you, or gave you any praise.
I am trully sorry, and will be to my dying days.
I was never really fair but I always respected you,
Especially the way you enhanced our skills and made our blades look new.
Time might make it easier, but the pain will always stay,
You never really understood the special role your life played.
Our emotions, they are raw today, we are all so torn apart.
For hollow, wrenching feelings, tear this very heart.
The pain consumes my insides, beyond my own control,
The sea of sorrow rushes in and drowns my very soul.
You are our light Kenny, our bright and guiding star,
I ask you to forgive me, and be with us from where you are.
I'm sorry I let you die Kenny, I'm sorry I let you down,
And when you were kidnapped, I'm so sorry that I wasn't around.
You are in a better place, a place where I can't fail you again.
A place of angelic pristine and bliss that will never end.
You are safe from pain, protected from evil in a euphoria that has no end,
I will really miss you, my collegue, my team-mate, my friend."
----
Kai was exiting the cemetary when he heard some one walking behind him. The sun had almost set and the woodland-like cemetary was bathed in the golden glory. Kai stopped and tuned. Hilary stood behind him, a small smile across her gentle features. He nodded to her and gave a small smile. Hilary ran as fast as her heels would allow and threw her arms around Kai.
"That poem," She whispered into his ear, "It was beautiful Kai."
Kai put his arms around Hilary but said nothing.
"Kenny's family told me to thank you." She continued, "And Kai, they don't blame you for what happened."
"They should." Kai muttered.
Hilary pulled away from him and slapped him across the face. Kai was stunned by the sudden and unprovoked attack but stared at her blankly. Her eyes welled with tears.
"It's not your fault!" She said loudly. "It was Omen's! Got that? You even dare to mutter anything to the contrary and I will dump you then and there! You got that?!"
Kai looked to the ground and couldn't help but smirk at her fiestiness. He suddenly felt her take his chin in her hand and raise his face to face her. Her face was angry and commanding.
"I said, Have you got that?!" She growled.
Kai smirked and swooped in, kissing her.
"Yes ma'am." He whispered seductively.
"Stop that." She said, trying to hide a smile and her flushing cheeks. "We're in a cemetary. It's neither the time nor place."
She took his scarred hand and pulled him towards the exit. Kai smiled at her and followed.
The End...
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Okay, now Killer Camp really is finished!! I just thought I should put Kenny's funeral in here. Please tell me, did any one cry? lol. Sorry if the poem is kinda crappy, I wrote it myself and its kinda rushed.
ITS MY BIRTHDAY TOMORROW!! YAY!!!! I'm turning 16! woo!... actually, its not that great... one year closer to wrinkles... dam. Ah well. It's not going to be a very happy birthday though, considering I've a fucked up week starting from Monday night.(put it this way... cry self to sleep every night since.) it doesnt matter though, most of my life is fucked up so its nothing new. Sorry for the bad language just then!!!
Oh yeah, there WILL be a sequel to Killer Camp. :P Keep your eyes peeled for the title "Bad Omens" okay? I am not going to give anything away, ha ha! well... maybe I'll just say that there may be a character death :P I will leave it there. Tell me what you think!!! xoxoxoxxx
Torz!