Chapter Four

Hurts

Kay couldn't sleep. He could only think about what had happened to Ember that night, when she had spoken with a voice that was not her own. He stared at the ceiling. He couldn't begin to imagine what she had gone through. Thoughts like this coursed through his brain for almost three hours, until he spotted a face at his door.

"Kay?" came a voice.

"Ember? Ember, what's wrong?" He sat up immediately.

The girl, starting to cry softly, whispered, "I...I..."

Then the agent made a gesture so that she would sit on the bed next to him, and she obeyed.

"Go on, Ember."

"The dream, or vision, whatever it was...w-was horrible...And...and it hurt. Like a kn-knife...stabbing me over and over..."

The quiet tears slowly became sobs. Agent K wasn't sure what to do, but he pulled her close and hugged her.

"I'm so sorry," he said. "I'm so sorry." For some reason, he didn't like to see her in pain.

Ember hugged him back and cried into his shoulder. "I feel so l-lonely...I was lonely even when I lived...w-with my mom...Sometimes I thought...thought she'd kill me."

"Ember, do you want to, um, sleep in here tonight?" he offered.

She nodded. The seer became calm, and both of them lay down to sleep. At last, a peaceful rest.

Kay woke up with Ember's head on his chest, which made him feel extremely awkward. He looked at the clock; 5:56 a.m. Slowly, so as not to wake her, he slid Ember's head gently off of his chest and climbed out of bed. He changed into a fresh suit, then checked on Agent J. He was still sound asleep on the couch. Then, Ember rose and joined Kay in the kitchen, where they made bacon and toast for breakfast.

There was a knock on the door. Kay looked through the peephole, only to find Zed standing there.

"Oh, God," Agent K muttered. He opened the door.

Zed stormed in and fished out a Noisy Cricket from his pocket. "Where's the damn girl?" he demanded.

"What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about! Jay told me everything!"

Kay went over to where Jay slept and slapped him awake. "You son of a-"

"Kay? What's happening?" Ember said, cowering behind the kitchen counter. The commotion stopped.

"Ember, everything will be all-"

Before Agent K could finish his sentence, Zed shot at the girl. Ember fell to the ground as debris flew everywhere.

"No!"

Ember woke in Kay's arms. Black spots danced in the seer's vision.

"K...Kay..." She could barely speak. "Wh..."

"I should have stopped him. You...You're hurt."

Ember looked down. Her right arm was bleeding badly. Her hip, as well. She could feel a cut on her forehead. "I'm...fi-fine..."

"No, you're not, Ace. We can't take you to MIB, or the hospital...Will you be okay here for a second?" Kay asked.

The girl managed to nod. Agent K left for a few minutes and returned with a black First Aid Kit. The white letters "MIB PERSONNEL" were printed on it. After putting some kind of weird liquid on Ember's wounds, he bandaged her up.

"You're gonna be okay," he whispered. A look of doubt spread over Kay's face, just as Ember's eyelids began to droop.

"It...h-hurts..." she muttered, finally closing her eyes to rest.

"No, please stay awake..."

But she paid no attention to Kay's plea and slept.

What do you think? Like the story so far? Review! - MISS GLOBAL