Here's the next chapter guys. Sorry for taking so long to update but I'm focusing in another story right now, not to worry though since I'm almost done with it. Anyway I'll start putting 'Sora's Group' and 'Roxas' Group' before the chapter in order to make it easier for you guys.
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts
Kingdom Hearts: Race to the Keyhole
Roxas' Group
Ch.5 A Place Once Called Home
The sun rose on the quiet streets of Twilight Town. Its rays shining upon the room where Xion, Roxas and Namine slept peacefully, despite the situation they were in. Xion sat against one of the walls with her arms crossed, letting out a quiet snore every now and then. Roxas was plopped down on the ground with his arms and legs wide open, letting out loud snores. Finally Namine laid down in a corner, using her hands as pillows and breathing quietly.
Xion was the first to wake up, she stretched her arms before letting out a yawn. She felt a bit of dread at waking up in the Clock Tower since it meant that the last day's events had been real and not a horrifying nightmare. A sigh escaped her lips and she stood up and walked over to the edge of the room, admiring the view. Her eyes lingered on the quiet town underneath her, wondering just how much had changed in the last day.
Right now the biggest change was the complete and utter silence. Every morning in Twilight Town was loud, be it the sound of people talking, the sound of cars, or the very familiar train whistle. Everything was quiet now and she hated it. It meant that there were no people to make noise. She didn't know if they were hiding or hurt but she hoped her family was okay.
"Xion…" she heard someone muttered sleepily. Xion turned her head to the side to see Roxas walking towards her, scratching his right eye and letting out a yawn, "How long were we out?"
Xion shrugged her shoulders. "I have no idea," she switched her gaze to the sky, noticing the sun peeking out in the horizon, "Judging by where the sun is, it's early."
Roxas frowned as he crossed his arms, "None of it was a dream, right?"
"No," she replied with her gaze on the town.
"What do we do now?" he asked in a desperate tone.
The dark-haired teen looked at the town beneath her with a hardened gaze. "First, we need to get Namine back home," she stated, catching the odd look Roxas sent her, "Since her house is the closest, we can just drop her off. We talked this over yesterday and she said that she would get us a car if we made it there."
"I see…" Roxas muttered with a scowl, turning to Xion, "Do you think we can make it there?"
"Not with that attitude," she joked but it did little to ease the mood. "Joking aside, I have no idea," she admitted, "We can only hope we make it to Namine's house. If we get there then we'll have a car to move around."
"When are we leaving?" Roxas turned back to the room, seeing that Namine was still asleep.
"As soon as she wakes up," Xion deadpanned, "We've already stayed her too long"
The blond teen nodded, "Alright then."
The glass door of the train station opened slowly, Roxas' head peeking out. The teen looked around the area, letting out a sigh of relief when not seeing any more of those things.
"There's nothing out here," he muttered as he stepped out of the station.
Xion was first to follow with Namine walking behind her, looking around the area in a nervous manner.
"Are you sure there's nothing here?" Namine asked fearfully.
"There doesn't seem to be anything here," Xion replied, walking to the station's plaza casually.
It wasn't until now that Roxas took note of something in Xion's hand. "Wait a minute," he furrowed his brows, eyeing the metal pipe held on Xion's hand, "When did you get that?"
Xion smiled. "I got it inside," she responded, twirling the pipe on her hand, "I didn't see any others in there so you're out of luck."
"What are you talking about?" Roxas frowned, "How come you get a weapon and we don't!"
Xion looked at Roxas with a frown on her face. She didn't understand why he was getting so worked up. They couldn't afford to stay in the station any longer, it would be too dangerous. There had been only one metal pipe and she picked it for, what she believed, were obvious reasons.
"Listen Roxas," she began, throwing a glance at Namine, "You too Namine." The dark-haired teen paused before her eyes hardened, "Right now, I'm the only one who's doing anything. I'm the only one keeping a cool head so I think that I should get the weapon."
Roxas clenched his fist, not liking what Xion was insinuating. Before he could retort, he felt a hand grasp his.
"It's okay," Namine assured with a smile, noticing the blush on Roxas' cheek and the light twitch on Xion's hand. "We just have to prove ourselves," a blush adorned her cheeks as she let out a giggle, "Let's do our best Roxas."
The blond found it hard to make out a word, far too flustered by how adorable Namine looked. Xion, on the other hand, gave Namine an odd look, wondering what she was trying to do. The smile seemed a bit fake but, turning to the downhill road at the end of the plaza, she realized that she had bigger things to worry about.
"Let's get going then," Xion ordered as she began to walk away, her two companions on her side in an instant. She gripped the metal bar tightly as they neared the hill. There was always the possibility that she was being paranoid but how could she in a situation like this? The teenage girl kept her gaze on their surroundings just in case another one of those things popped up.
The sound of footsteps echoed through the quiet and deserted streets of Twilight Town. Xion, Roxas, and Namine walked along the market district. Shops that had been filled with people and angry merchants were now dead with silence, it brought a feeling of uneasiness to the three teens though Xion tried to push it away.
Xion had made herself the 'leader' of the group since she believed to be the only one capable at the moment. This had also been the reason for her being the only one carrying a weapon, the others would only end up hurting themselves in their current state. Xion was an observer, she would always watch those around them quietly and had the ability to see past their usual masks.
Nobody was honest, she had learned that long ago. Her two companions for example. Though they put up what they believed to be brave faces, she knew better than to think they were alright. She herself was shaken about the whole ordeal but, throwing a glance at the two blondes trailing along, she could tell that they were scared out of their wits. She guessed it was true that people were calmer when surrounded by people who were afraid.
"Only a few more blocks," Namine snapped Xion out of her thoughts, her voice carrying its usual sweetness.
"Alright," Xion replied, turning back to the road ahead with a frown on her face. Whatever Namine was doing was getting on her nerves. Surprisingly enough she was unable to fully read the blonde. It was as if she was used to lying or acting a certain way.
The sudden sound of breaking glass caught the attention of the teens, all of them snapping their heads towards one of the shops. On first glance there was nothing wrong since the dark interior of the shop kept everything from view but they knew better.
"What was that?" Roxas whispered harshly.
The three teens remained motionless, keeping their eyes on the broken window. Xion gripped her iron pipe, if any of those things came out she would be ready.
Namine took a step forward, kicking a discarded can by accident. "S-sorry!" she yelped.
In an instant a corpse jumped out of the window. The body was big, clearly belonging to one of those muscle-head types. The hulking corpse covered in darkness glared its yellow eyes at the three teens, lowering into a crouch and letting out a growl.
Xion stepped in front of her two friends with her pipe on hand. "Find some kind of shelter," she said without turning around, "I'll catch up later."
"Are you out of your mind?" Roxas all but spoke, his eyes wide in evident shock. He could feel his fists shake in anger or fear, he didn't know which. For some reason Xion kept on trying to act like a hero, just what the hell was she thinking?
"Roxas I have to-"
"No!" he interrupted his fists clenched, "We'll help you!" He turned to the corpse watching as it squirmed, letting out a growl. It began to move, taking short slow steps as if not to startle them. Roxas took an involuntary step back, missing the light frown on Xion's face.
"Leave now," Xion spoke on a sharp voice.
Namine looked at Roxas in worry, his mouth was agape while his face was red in anger. She could understand why he was like that but, looking at the nearing monster, she concluded that it wasn't the time nor place for such drama. She had to get away before that thing killed her.
"R-Roxas," she called the blond in obvious nervousness. Said teen turned to her, worry and confusion on his face. The girl took a quick breath before smiling apologetically, "S-she made up her mind. We should leave her."
"B-but-"
"Listen to her Roxas," Xion muttered as she bent her knees slightly, putting her pipe to her right side. "You have to get to Namine's home, it'll be safe," she turned to her friend with a determined smile on her face, "You can trust me on this Roxas. I'll be back with you before you know it."
Roxas let out a growl before nodding. He took Namine's hand and began to run away, not daring turning back since he knew that if he did, he would just go back to Xion.
The corpse let out a roar as it broke into a run, aiming for the teenage girl with the small frame. It pounced at the teen before being struck in the face by the metal pipe she carried. The 'man' let out a hiss of pain before receiving another blow on its side.
Xion brought her pipe back before striking its ankles, knocking it off its feet. The creature fell on the ground, letting out a growl of pain. Taking her chance, Xion ran away from the creature, heading the opposite direction of her friends. Running into them with that thing in pursuit would be a bad idea.
She threw a glance at the creature, her eyes widening when it began its chase. Xion quickly turned a corner and ran up a set up stairs, she had to make it out alive at all costs.
Roxas and Namine ran through the streets of Twilight Town, now a good distance away from the sudden attack. The two came to a halt, letting out pants as they rested their hands on their knees.
"D-do you think… we'll be safe here?" Namine panted with her cheeks flushed.
Roxas let out a short breath before nodding. "Y-yeah," he let out. He glanced around the area, taking in his surroundings. They were on a normal neighborhood street. The floor was made up of orange brick while the homes were painted white. He turned to Namine with a small frown, "Where are we?"
"We're near my home," she responded, her frame relaxing slightly, "It shouldn't take more than a few blocks to get there!"
"Let's go then."
The two teens continued to run through the streets. Now that they were close the best course of action, in their opinion, would be to run the rest of the way there. Namine kept a look of relief on her face while Roxas kept on throwing glances over his shoulder, hoping to catch sign of Xion.
Said girl ran through the streets of Twilight Town with a pipe on hand and a horde of those 'thing' chasing after her. Her legs ached and her chest hurt but she had to keep going, she wouldn't allow herself to die here.
An upcoming fence caught Xion's attention. It was a large local pool that she had gone to only a few times. She had never been once to go swimming but now the place seemed sacred. As she neared the pool she took note of the various footsteps behind her, she would need to close the place quick. From where she was, she could see that the door to the pool was wide open with a chain wrapped around the edge of the door.
Xion stopped on her tracks, turning at the same time with her pipe gripped tightly on her hands. The pipe struck one of them on the head, earning a screech of pain. She resumed her run and got through the door, quickly making sure to lock it before any of them got in.
She struggled with the lock before finally shutting it in place, locking herself away from the 'things.' "That was close…" she muttered, watching as they crashed against the fence. Some tried to claw at her but she was too out of reach, "What the hell do I do now?"
It was her alone in a public pool surrounded by crazed man-eating people. Ignoring the thrashing from the corpses trying to get in, she took a minute to study her surroundings.
Everything, aside from the 'things' was quiet. There were discarded towels and pieces of clothing here and there but, other than that, there was no sign of anything there. She took a step forward, her pipe hitting against the ground lightly. The teen sat on one of the many chairs around the pool, wondering what her next move would be.
She was trapped unless she thought of something or was struck by a sudden case of good luck. She froze when she heard the sound of grass breaking. Xion snapped her head to the side, watching in wide-eyes as a group of corpses dragged themselves out of a small office in the corner of the pool.
Xion was on her feet in an instant, her mind going through various means to get out of the situation. 'Come on, think of something!' she went over everything she knew, unconsciously taking a few step backs. She suddenly bumped into one of the chairs, knocking a glass of water onto the ground.
The sound of the breaking glass caught the attention of all the 'things.' Xion took note of this with a look of understanding, 'They follow sounds. That means that they can't see!'
She ran to the other side of the pool, her footsteps making the group of corpses speed up their pace. "I'm over here!" she exclaimed as she hit her pipe against the ground. They screeched before breaking into a run, unknowingly falling into the pool. Xion continued to hit the ground as they walked underwater.
They seemed to trash about with their mouths open, apparently needing to breath, before finally relaxing their postures and floating to the surface, now without movement.
'Are they dead?' Xion asked herself, looking at the floating corpses. She looked at them for a few moments before letting out a sigh of relief, they needed oxygen as much as they did. Not only that, but they were blind and stupid. With this new information things would be easier.
"Now…" she muttered, looking at the area around her.
Corpses screeched from outside the fence, all of them trying to claw at anything that came close. The numbers just seemed to grow with none of them leaving the area.
"What do I do?"
Ch. 5 End
That will be it for this chapter guys. Like I said before, right now I'm focusing in another story but once I get it done, I'll focus on this once more. Also, there's no definite length to the chapters meaning that some will be short (like this one) or long depending on the situation.
Thanks for reading and I hope you liked this chapter, remember to leave any question if you have any.
