==Hello, everyone! I'm back with another chapter that's been tweaked since I wrote it while on vacation. I hope the next chapter won't take me too long to get finished, because I plan on getting 2-3 more chapters posted before school starts up for me in the next couple of weeks. Focuses are brief but are preparing us for more problems with the Serpentine. Then I'm hoping to get to a part I know many of you are excited to read about :P I hope you enjoy!==

Lady GaGa - "Yoü and I"

It's been a long time since I came around, been a long time but I'm back in town. This time I'm not leaving without you...

Haunted: Collapse into Caliginosity

Chapter 37:

This Time

How could I be so stupid? Why didn't I listen to Zane? Nya was keeping me calm and out of danger as we watched the Ninja fight. Everything was okay until the crying became too obvious to ignore. To me, someone was hurt.

I managed to slip away unnoticed, and went to check it out. My plan was to aid whatever had happened and bring the person back to Nya. I didn't bring her with me in the first place because I didn't want to keep her away from the battlefield in case something bad were to happen. But as it turned out, bringing her along could've been the smartest thing for me to do.

The weeping increased as I got closer. I rounded a heap of junk to find a little clearing right next to the wall of the junkyard. In it I found a girl wearing a bright pink sweatshirt sitting on the ground. Her tangled brown hair stuck out from under the hood, almost looking like dreadlocks. When she met my stare, I recognized her a moment too late.

Two Fangpyre jumped me in an ambush. They bound my wrists together and tied my mouth shut after they tackled me down. I was taken up a mountain of used tires. At the same time as the tribe was defeated, my restraints were taken off. I was shoved into the hold of a two-headed fangpyre holding a golden staff. Before I could try to get away, the snake reached down and punctured both sets of fangs into my biceps. Lava was injected in my bloodstream. I've never screamed so loud or hard in my life.

The snake pushed me down the heap as hard as he could, but the tumble down didn't faze me. As I laid on the hot sand at the bottom, all I could think about was how much pain I was in. It was paralyzing; it hindered my ability to move at all.

I remembered being picked up, but I didn't know who it was. Voices filled my ears, and then loud engines. The rest was nothing but a blur. Eventually, the bright light became darkness, and from there, I drowned in my own unconsciousness.

Being alive without vision or having the ability to hear is like being submerged in water. The body is still but the surroundings move with smooth currents. It's peaceful, but it's not happiness. It's just restful.

A stabbing pain in my head is what made me surface from the mental water. Very slowly, very steadily, I rose to the top as every throb beat down on my senses. The moment my head broke the surface is when I became aware of the outside world. It was no longer burning hot, but a cool room. My body was comforted by the softness of a bed and blanket.

I felt my mouth gaping open so I instantly closed it and fluttered my eyelids against bright rays of the sun. Once my vision became stationary, I was able to properly distinguish a pale face with pristine blue eyes. The anxiousness that struggled to stay afloat in his stare found relief to beach itself on. Even a happy sigh came out from between his lips. "You're okay," Zane joyously breathed, encasing me in a hug.

I cringed and grunted in pain as his arms went around my back. The sudden burning sensation on my shoulders felt raw and sore as my skin was bunched together.

He released me when I expressed my pain. A guilty expression came over his face. "I-I'm sorry," he said. "You're sunburnt. I made an ointment to treat it, but first I must suggest that you take a cold shower before it's applied. I'll wash your clothes for you."

I got out of his bunk and felt sand in places where it shouldn't be. Even my tank top aggravated the sharp edges of the sunburn on my arms. "Ooh, yeah that's a good suggestion," I agreed through gritted teeth.

He led me out to Nya's bedroom to let me undress. It was an ordinary girl's room. The floor was the same brown hardwood that the hallways had, along with the wooden walls. A large circular window took up a lot of space on the wall aside from her tall chest used to hold clothes. There was a queen sized bed that had a lilac comforter. Next to it was an opaque fusuma screen, an object used to change clothes behind without being seen. And right next to the bedroom door was a small station with a mirror connected to it, a place for doing makeup.

I went over to the only other door in the room. On the other side was her personal bathroom. Assuming it wasn't originally designed to be bathroom, due to the same floor and walls that the bedroom had, I made a mental note to keep most of the water in the shower to reduce a mess. Once I was in the tiled shower, I heard Zane open the door to take my clothes from on top of the closed toilet seat.

I was allowed to use the soaps Nya had, but I tried to use as little as possible. The soap with cold water against the red skin made me feel relief from the pain, and that was all I was concerned about.

The door hadn't moved again by the time I was finished. I dried myself off and cracked the door open to find an empty room with no clean clothes in sight.

Now what do I do? I wondered.

Just then was when the bedroom door swung open and I spotted the top strands of Zane's hair pop up over it. I kept my exposed body hidden behind the bathroom door as he came into view. My clothes weren't in his grasp.

He noticed me peeking at him through the slim crack. "Are you cleaned up?" he inquired.

"Yeah, but I don't have anything to wear."

"Your clothes are drying right now," he informed me. "Just wrap yourself in a towel so I can treat the burns on your back."

My face got warm from blushing at the thought of being technically naked in front of Zane. It was so embarrassing! All could think of was how lucky he was that I trusted him enough for something like this.

I did as he advised and wrapped one of Nya's blue towels around the parts that needed to be covered. My eyes remained glued to the floor when I came out because I didn't want him to see how much I was blushing. He picked up a plain ceramic bowl that had a little utensil used to crush herbs together in it. Inside was a light green ointment that appeared cool to the touch, like minty toothpaste.

I turned around, pulling my condensed damp hair over my shoulder to let him investigate the affected area. Soon enough, the ointment was spread across my shoulders. The first feeling of it brought goosebumps down my back. It was actually really cold, but his touches no longer made me flinch nor cringe as the irritated nerves became numb. In fact, it all seemed to have transformed into a comforting massage. Every rub and gentle squeeze was blissful to the senses.

The palms of his hands rested on both my shoulders when he was finished. "Better?" he asked.

"Much," I confirmed, my eyes closed from the pleasure. "How did you get the ointment to be cold?"

He took a seat on the bed. "Well," he began, welcoming me to join him, "you were fast asleep when I finished making it, so I just put the bowl in the refrigerator until you woke up. I'll prepare more for your return home."

I sat down next to him, holding the towel close against my chest. "Do we still not know when that is?"

"It's today," he unexpectedly said. "We acquired a new form of transportation while you were sleeping. We're taking Jay's parents back to the junkyard once the coast is clear and then making a trip to Ninjago City for you."

"What's the transportation?"

"You'll have to see for yourself. But your clothes are finishing drying as we speak. Put more ointment on your face, chest, and arms. I'll be right back." He got up and left me with the bowl next to where he was once sitting. I went ahead and returned to the bathroom so I could take the towel off and tend to my horrible new tan lines. Doing it myself wasn't as nice as when Zane did it, but feeling the relief made all the difference.

I'll turn dark again in a few days, I reminded myself. This wasn't the first time I've been sunburnt, anyway.

The bathroom door suddenly opened as I was spreading the ointment on my red cheekbones. I cursed kind of loud because it startled me, but it was only Zane's arm protruding between the door frame and the door itself. In his open palm was a neat stack of my now clean clothes.

"Would you prefer to meet me on the upper deck or for me to remain here?" he asked as I took the stack from him.

"You can go ahead and go. I know my way around," I told him.

The door closed after he pulled his arm away. I got dressed and saw I was missing three articles. From my memory, I remember only wearing my hat again today. Since we were traveling through the desert, wearing my arm socks and headphones weren't necessary. I left them in Zane's cubby in his bedroom. As for my hat, I lost it in the junkyard when the Fangpyre ambushed us.

I can always replace.

With that thought in mind and the bowl of ointment in hand, I made my way through the hallways and emerged into the orange sunshine of sunset. But that wasn't the only thing that slapped me in the face; a big continuous gust of wind made my damp hair lift and flap around behind me. A loud rumbling repeated the same pattern of humming sounds nearby. Clouds were also moving fast, and I knew that was peculiar.

Up at the bow of the Bounty were Jay and his parents talking. They hugged each other when I found Zane gazing over the railing to my left. I went up next to him and also looked over to find the ground very far away from us.

I gasped and jumped back. "W-We're flying?"

Zane faced me with one hand still on the wood. "Yes," he said. "Jay was able to get the special defense system working at the last minute. We escaped just in time."

"And able to save our lives. Just another good day on the job?"

"Indeed."

I stepped back up to the railing and bravely looked down at the smooth desert. The meager amount of clouds beneath us created irregular shadows against it.

"I must ask," Zane started again, "how did the Fangpyre General capture you when you were with Sensei Wu and Nya?"

"Oh, um...That was my fault."

"How?"

"Well, I was staying out of sight just like you told me to, but then I heard someone crying. To me it sounded like someone was hurt, so I went to investigate. But it was just that girl. What's her name?"

"Hannah?"

"Yeah, that's it. She was pretending to be hurt, but once I recognized her, I got jumped by a couple Fangpyre. Then they took me to the General."

He went silent for a moment. Then, slowly, he brought me into an embrace composed of nothing but sadness. One arm wrapped around my shoulders while his other hand held the side of my head. The side of my face was pressed against the bottom center of his ribcage.

"This is why you must return home," he confessed. "Danger follows wherever I go. What happened today is exactly why I wanted to stay behind. Seeing the venom consume your existence was nearly unbearable to witness. I would never forgive myself if I lost you."

I couldn't find words to speak right away. He was right, I had to go home. I didn't belong in an environment like this.

"So I'm not coming back?" I asked.

"I'm afraid not, but I'm sure there are other places we can be together."

I smiled. "We can also video chat."

"What's that?"

"Oh, Jay or Kai will get you situated with that. We're going to make this work, you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because you're my best friend. We're a team."

And I intend on keeping my promise, because guys like you are hard to come by these days.

His hug constricted me more, and as I returned the favor, I knew our bond was something meant to be, because being with him made my angel wings flutter.

This is the quality of writing I enjoy! I know it wasn't as long as the other, but things are starting to get interesting. Shoutout to ZaneLoverFan88 for reviewing and Wild Cat 214 following and favoriting this story :) Such feedback would make any author happy. Please review if you feel compelled, and thank you my silent readers for lending your time to my story!