Chapter 52------Breaking Point
"Don't. Move." Kai whispered.
Mai stayed stiff next to Kai, her heart racing as she watched the snake for any movement. It was curled up and the front of its body was pulled back, it could strike any time it wanted to. A voice in her head was pestering her to get the jewel! Get the jewel! But she didn't dare move.
"Ahuli, clear an opening for Mai, let her get the jewel." Kai called back without taking his eyes off the snakes.
Ahuli nodded and looked at Mai, "You get jewel. We protect you."
"But!" 'If I move, I'll get bitten!'
"What're you waiting for? Go!" Kai rushed her as he took out his beyblade.
The girl hesitantly hopped from snake-free space to snake-free space as Ahuli and the rest cleared a path for her. How did she get into this mess? Entering a snake pit? It's got to be the craziest thing she had ever done!
Mai made her way to the wall, she had to hurry. She reached for the jewel, 'Dammit! It's too high!' Her right foot felt for a foot hole in the rock and she managed to prop herself up a little higher. 'C'mon! C'mon!' Her nails felt around the jewel, it wasn't coming out! She checked on the guys, they were still battling the snakes using whatever they had. She took out her beyblade and started scrapping its attack ring against the rock, anything to loosen the jewel. 'Argh! It's not coming out! I need something sharp!' "I can't get it out! Do you have anything sharp?"
"Sharp?" Ahuli answered. He remembered his necklace. "Here!" He tossed it to Mai.
She caught it and began hammering the sharp fang into the rock. It was taking a very long time to get the jewel out and Mai knew she couldn't afford that time, the guys couldn't hold off the snakes forever. She pried the fang into the side of the jewel, knocking the other end with her beyblade, she was going to force out the stupid thing. The rock was breaking up, the jewel was coming out!
But suddenly her body froze, she stopped breathing and her heart beat raced…
"Mai! Stay still!" Ahuli shouted.
Kai turned to see what had happened, a black snake was hanging from the opening of the stone snake's mouth, it head was less than a foot away from Mai. 'Mai!'
The girl's breathing came in small short gasps; her eyes glanced sideways at Ahuli, as if asking him what to do. The snake was looking directly at her, 'Don't move! Don't move!' she reminded herself. Her arm tensed up as the snake's body brushed against her arm, its tongue flicking in and out. And then it slithered onto her arm! Mai held back her scream; this was the worse day of her life! 'Just go away! Please! Just go away!'
"Don't move! Just act like rock!" Ahuli advised.
'How am I supposed to stay clam when I have a freakin' poisonous snake on my arm!' Mai let out a soft whimper. She held her breath when the snake came close to her face; she watched its tongue, it was as though it was testing the air. It moved again, its scaly skin rubbing against her arm, the girl cringed. After five antagonising minutes, the snake slid off her arm. She waited till it had moved a safe distance away from her before she breathed again and fell to the floor. "Kowaii yo…(that was so scary)" She sounded like she wanted to cry.
Kai abandoned his battle with the snakes and rushed over to Mai but Ahuli had beaten him to it. Why is it that every time he wanted to help, he never got the chance to? And then Mai accuses him of being too overprotective, it wasn't his fault that he missed the chance to show her that he really, truly wanted to help her.
"You okay?" Ahuli lifted her to her feet.
"Mm." Mai nodded and wiped away a tear, she wasn't going to cry. She dusted herself and reached for the jewel. She held it in her palm; she was holding the long-searched jewel but she wasn't happy. 'No one should have gone through such an experience for a stupid rock…Stupid Eden!' She clenched her fist tightly.
"Let's go!"
"Dranzer! Flame Sabre!" Kai commanded, and his beyblade cleared a path for them to escape as its flames held back the snakes.
The four of them dashed out of the cave and through the tunnel. Who knew snakes could move so fast? Mai ran like hell, it was the first time she ran so fast since the time when Mike and his men were chasing after her. The four of them reached the lake and Ahuli quickly wound the reins around Mai's arm while Mohali and Kai held the snakes back. He then proceeded to tie Mohali and Kai's hands together.
"Go! Go!"
All of them splashed in the water, trying to get as far out as possible so that they could dive. Mai looked back, the snakes were staying ashore, but that didn't mean some of them couldn't swim.
'Oh my god! They're even faster the water!' Mai panicked."Dive now! Dive now!"
"One, two, three!"
All four of them went under…
-Outside at the waterfall-
Rei and Chewet were sitting on the rocks when suddenly a head popped out of the water.
"Mohali!"
Then another and another and finally Mai surfaced. The girl was coughing; she had swallowed some water along the way. Ahuli pulled her to shore.
"-cough- -cough- … -cough- -cough- -cough-" Rei patted her back.
Kai and Chewett stood next to her, "Dooshite?" he asked Rei, concern written all over his face.
Mai shook her head and touched her throat, she had stopped coughing. "Heki desu…(I'm fine)" She sat down the ground.
"Did you get the jewel?"
"Yeah." Mai rummaged through her pocket and took out the jewel; she showed it to Rei who smiled. He took out the other one and returned it to her.
The girl rested her head against the tree trunk, 'Yatta…Now I have two. Yatta ne.' She sighed and closed her eyes.
"You look pale. Feeling cold?" The Chinese boy sat down next to her.
"No…We got attacked by snakes."
"Really?" He perked up.
"Yeah. Mai almost died." Kai said as he ruffled his hair, trying to get it dry.
Mai opened her eyes when she heard this, "I'll die before I resurrect Eden if this keeps up…"
"-cough- -cough-"
"You okay?" Mai asked.
"I'm fine. –cough-" Kai replied as he tried to hold back another round of coughing.
"Kai."
The Russian turned.
"Thanks for your help back there." She gave him a feeble smile before looking somewhere else.
He returned his gaze to the cascading waterfall, "You're welcome…"
-Next day-
"YOU THREE! DO YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED WE'VE BEEN? FOR THREE DAYS! THREE DAYS YOU WERE MISSING AND YOU DIDN'T BOTHER TO CALL WHEN YOU HAD YOUR PHONES!"
Mai, Kai and Rei sat hunched on the sofa. This was it. They were getting it now…
"AND YOU SHOULD'VE NEVER RUN OFF LIKE THAT! DID YOU EVER THINK OF THE CONSEQUENCES? WHAT'S MORE YOU'RE A GIRL, LOST IN THE WILDERNESS WITH STRANGE MEN AROUND!"
Mai dropped her head even lower…
"AND YOU TWO! THE BOTH OF YOU COULD HAVE AT LEAST CALLED US! THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORK HAD TO HELP US LOCATE YOU VIA SATTELITE!" Judy's face was redder than a tomato.
"Ugh! What am I going to do with you three?"She placed a palm on her forehead.
"Mom, really, it's all right." Max tried to console her, which didn't seem to be working.
"C'mon, say you're sorry before she blows up again." Tyson whispered and nudged Mai from behind.
She looked at Rei, then at Kai and nodded. "One, two, three."
"We're really very sorry! Please forgive us!" All three of them knelt on the floor and bowed their heads.
Judy looked at them; they would've gotten it worse if they were her kids. "Oh all right."
The three of them lifted their heads.
"BUT! This doesn't mean I'm letting you off without any punishment."
They hung their heads once more…
-Fast forward-
"Mou…why do I have to wash the toilet alone?" Mai tied a bandana around her forehead to keep her hair out of the way.
"Because we can't go in there." Rei pointed to the girl's toilet.
"Yeah? Well you get Kai. I don't get anyone." She argued.
"Everything was your fault in the first place…-cough- -cough-" Kai commented and cleared his throat.
"Have fun cleaning Mai!" Rei laughed and went into the men's toilet.
Mai threw a sponge at the door…
"Argh, why do I have to clean the toilet all by myself?" Mai was trying to unplug the sink.
Levian: The punishment fits the deed
'Urusai na.(Shut up)' "Ugh, yuck!" She swatted a soggy tissue paper off her fingers.
Levian: Don't complain. You always complain about everything.
'It makes me feel better. I don't care if nobody listens.'
Levian: Whatever floats your boat then. By the way, you missed a spot near the tap.
Mai vigorously rubbed at the stubborn stain.
Levian: I'm guessing you're going to start looking for the third jewel?
'Of course! I have to free Eden before Riya does. Besides, he can't resurrect Eden if I have two of the jewels.'
-Flashback-
"I know they've gone overboard and deserved to be punished but we're just teenagers! How do you expect us to get revenge?"
"With Eden." Riya replied.
-End of flashback-
'He can't resurrect Eden…I won't let him.'
Levian: I know you're determined to free Eden. But the third hunt…Are you going to put their lives in danger again?
Mai stopped scrubbing. She knew who 'their lives' were. 'They agreed to take the risk…But what if they really get hurt the next time? What if something really unfortunate happens to them? What if…what if I lose one of them because of me?' She didn't want anything of that sort to happen. They had done so much for her, yet she was pulling them deeper and deeper into her hazardous lifestyle. A life once lost, can never be replaced…
She couldn't play with their lives anymore; she had to do something…
-An hour later-
Mai pushed open the door, the pail banged against her legs as she carried the heavy thing out of the toilet.
"Why are you so wet?" Rei got up from his sitting position when he saw Mai; the girl's shirt was soaked.
"I got splashed by the hose…"
Rei laughed, Mai glared at him with a it's-not-funny-look. Cleaning a big public toilet without any help was hard work! Furthermore, she was wet, sticky and messy; she was NOT in the mood to joke with anyone right now.
"Okay, okay. Sorry. I'll carry that." He took the pail off her hands.
"Thanks." Mai pulled at her shirt, the wet fabric flopped back against her skin. 'I'm definitely gonna take a shower when we get back to the dorm…'
The three of them passed the window. Mai looked out, it was pouring. Just then, a flash of lightning streaked across the sky. For some reason, an image of Eden sending lightning bolts crashing down onto earth appeared in her mind.
"Something wrong?" Rei looked from Mai to the window and back to Mai again.
She shook her head, "Just thinking about something…" She carried on walking.
"-cough-" Kai beat his chest. 'Stop coughing dammit!' He held back another cough but it came out like a muffled hiccup.
"Are you all right? You've been coughing since the time we were at the waterfall." Mai looked at him with furrowed brows.
"I'm fine. –cough-" He replied in a slightly raspy voice.
blu: Oh no! Kai has tuberculosis!
-Hospital-
Mai sat by his bed side, 'How could this happen? WHY? You can't die! Not when I still haven't told you that I– blu: Nah, just playing with ya :P Back to the story!
"You sure? Let me carry the pail." She reached for the handle but Kai pulled away.
"I said I'm fine." He answered in a back-off tone.
'What's up with him?' Mai watched him walk ahead. The coughing worried her; he was definitely not well……
"Good. You can help the cafeteria ladies with the dishes later." Judy sat back in her chair. Mai's jaw went slack, 'She can't be serious? A whole day of punishment? Gimme a break!' "But we're bushed, can't we—"
But Rei nudged her in the ribs and shook his head ever so slightly. Mai got the message, she kept quiet.
"This will be your final task, I promise. And the cafeteria ladies really do need help." Judy gave them a c'mon-you-understand-right? look.
-Fast forward-
Mai blew a strand of hair out of her face as her dish-panned hands dove under water once again to fish out a dirty plate.
"Thanks so much for your help, darling. I'm so sorry but here's some more." The hair-netted woman smiled apologetically.
"I-It's okay." Mai smiled weakly. 'I'm never gonna finish…'
"-cough- -cough-"
"Maybe you should rest. Your cough's getting worse." She looked at Kai who stood opposite the sink.
"Yeah." Rei agreed. "Don't force yourself."
But the stubborn boy carried on despite the huge amount of concern he was getting from his friends. Although, he would stop a few times to take a breather.
"What time is it?"
Mai looked at the clock, "A quarter to three. Are we almost done?"
Mai looked over at Rei's side, "Just a few more left. Go! Go!"
The two of them laughed at scrubbed the plates with new-found enthusiasm.
"3! …2!...Last one!" Mai hurriedly rinsed the plate under the tap and placed it noisily on the rack. "Done!"
"You didn't even wash the last one properly…" Rei took the plate off the rack and rinsed it under the tap. He placed it back onto the rack.
'My fingers look like shriveled up prunes…' She dismayed over the sad state of her hands.
Mai followed the boys out of the cafeteria. "Finally I can take a shower." She dashed ahead, "Hurry up!"
Rei followed after her.
'No…don't run,' Kai quickened his pace, 'I…' His head was heavy and his body didn't feel like it could move any longer.
"C'mon Kai!" Rei called.
"Rei…I…"
The neko-jin was alarmed that his friend was swaying a little, "Hey, what's the matter?" He rushed to his side but before he could get there—
-Thud-
"KAI!"
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