"Kyle…." The voice was nothing but a pure whisper. Someone was calling him, it was a female voice, "Kyle…" it was getting louder every time said his name, "Kyle…"
He tried to open his eyes. When he eventually opened them a tiny bit, he could see a silhouette of a woman. She was kneeling over him. Her blonde hair was touching his chest and he could feel her hand resting on his upper arm. She looked really familiar.
"Ballista?" Kyle asked confused before shutting his eyes again and falling into a light sleep.
Amy looked up from Kyle to James as confused as Kyle was.
"Who's Ballista?" She asked.
"Annaka's mum." He replied.
Drake looked around the open field where they were now situated. After the all the ice stopped smashing into inanimate objects, the ground started to rumble so James grabbed a then and now unconscious Kyle from out of the lab and into the open field which led into the woods.
Josh and Zoey were sitting down. They were a few metres away from everyone else and hadn't spoken since they left the lab which was now in ruins. Their thoughts were the same as everyone else's. What about the other defenders? When James left with Kyle, all four of them were still in a glass cocoon-whether that had broken or not since the collapse of the lab…who knows?
"What do we do now?" Amy asked, "Do we wait for him to wake up?"
"We shouldn't, he's probably very disorientated. He might not even remember what has happened." James explained, "Plus, knowing Kyle, he'll want to find the others as soon as possible."
"Do you have a B team?" Drake asked randomly.
"What?" James asked confused.
"A B team." He repeated, "Someone who looks through rubble and tries to find remains of collapsed buildings and try to figure out what happened?"
James stood there looking at him in a confused expression before literally shaking it off, "What sort of organisation do you think this is?"
Drake shrugged in reply then went back to pulling out strand of grass and tearing them apart. It was more entertaining than waiting around for Kyle to wake up…if he woke up. Drake immediately shook that thought from his head although; the other Jr defenders are nowhere to be seen, if they were still alive…
"Ouch." Someone whimpered, "My head kills."
Everyone's attention turned to Kyle for the second time that afternoon. Drake skidded over and knelt beside him, Amy parallel to him while Zoey and Josh crouched by his legs and James dominantly leaned over him. Kyle's eyes fluttered open and gazed up into the delicate sky. The clouds were moving a slow pace, each one with their unique shape. 5 unique shapes were bundled together. He could have sworn that one looked like a bear, another, a leopard. Of course there was an eagle one along with a lion shaped cloud and finally a wolf. They were all touching; their fates were believed to be entwined with each other until a gentle breeze came through the air, striking the five clouds apart, each one heading in a different direction.
Kyle blinked once more and the clouds were gone. Slowly, he bent his elbows and lifted his entire torso weight onto them with the help of a very strong and supporting his back. He looked around at the familiar surroundings on this warm day yet he felt so cold inside. His body felt frozen from head to toe. He wanted to cry. Oh how he wanted to cry for everything he had lost. He'd remembered and already figured it out. Zsa-Zsa had taught him to be a logical person and with his logical mind in place, he knew that there was no way they could escape.
"Kyle." Amy spoke softly. He turned to look at her, hoping that the realisation, that it wasn't them saying his name, would soon kick in and that he would burst in tears but his eyes stayed dry, "Here."
She placed a familiar yellow tube into his hand and closed his fingers around it, James had the others. He knew what his new friends were saying to him, the screaming of innocent civilians had just begun. Kyle stood up and despite being a bit wobbly walked nearer the town.
"It's Dino Time." He shouted from the top of his lungs as if he was making a point to the unseen.
"Raptorex!"
A yellow flash appeared and Kyle ran down the field, past the castle and into the inner town of Pearl Canyon. Drake walked forward with Josh next to him.
"We should help him at least." Josh said then turned to the girls, "Coming?"
They both nodded and the four teenagers followed the path of the yellow dino defender. James stayed behind to witness the scene and gave a certifying nod. He knew that this was the path that had to be taken.
Once at the scene, the four teenagers located Kyle and found him wrestling with robosaurs. He kicked them against the wall and punched them for a final strike. Deep down they hoped that this would unlock his anger and sorrow. However it wouldn't be enough as Kyle was clearly outnumbered. Josh was the first one to join in the fight by kicking one of the robosaurs in the shin before punching it in the chest.
This caught the attention of other robosaurs, who decided that Josh would be a more satisfying target than Kyle. In a matter of seconds Amy, Drake and Zoey had all joined in the fight alongside Kyle.
"Who knew that I would actually get some practice without karate skills?" Drake exclaimed to Amy, who laughed slightly.
Zoey cartwheeled over to Josh and kicked the robosaur from behind; successfully surprising it while Josh kicked it with what Zoey could only presume was a trick he learned at his football camp. Kyle used his dino kick to finish off the remaining robosaurs in one go before powering down and running towards his friends with a massive grin plastered all over his face.
"Do you guys want to see our base?" He asked still smiling.
Amy, Drake and Josh all nodded while Zoey slowly nodded and couldn't help but over hear the our in that sentence. Surely he could still believe that the other Jr defenders were returning? She stood there and pondered. Kyle was way too happy after the sudden change of events. Clearly, it hadn't hit him yet.
"Zoey!" Amy shouted to her, "Come on."
Zoey jogged to the gang as they made their way back to the castle with Kyle leading the way. A tedious fifteen minutes later, Kyle opened the castle doors and ran towards the basement and whipped the door open. He clambered down the steps with his friends quick on his tail.
James turned around confused and slight angry that Kyle had the courage to bring his friends down here without his permission. He watched as Kyle introduced them to the computer and showed them the latest equipment. He then ran towards the newest iPad edition and flicked through the pictures of the past powers he and the Jr defenders once held.
"Kyle." James said calling him over, "We need to talk."
Kyle rolled his eyes in a similar fashion to the pink dino defender and walked over, "What?"
"We both know that you're going to need help in the future…with battle." James explained in a hushed voice, "I have the Dino DNA…"
"They're coming back." Kyle interrupted, "They always do."
"But until then, we need replacements and you will need to be their leader."
Kyle paused a nodded seeing that he didn't have a choice in this argument and knowing James he already had the people lined up, "So go on then, who are they?"
James smiled, "Um…Drake, Amy and the other two can you come over here for a second."
Amy and Drake looked suspicious while Zoey and Josh looked very offended by the lack of name knowing. The friends stood in front of the familiar circular table which now had a pink stool replacing the black one. James like colour coordination.
"Kyle is going to be the new leader of the defenders." James announced.
Was that it? The announcement? Kyle could have told them that himself. James caught on to their confused looks-even Kyle's so continued.
"We have just been discussing that replacements are in order…"
"So can you help us look through every defender file and pick the top four candidates?" Kyle finished off.
"Actually Kyle, I had something a bit more quicker in mind. You see I watched you all fight on the monitor and I may have been a slight stalker and looked up your commitments…"
"Slightly stalkerish I'll agree so what do you want us for?" Drake asked.
"Okay, I'll get down to it." James said sighing as he went over to the small desk to collect the four other dino DNA tubes, "Drake Jones, I give to you the red tyrannosaurs DNA tube. I hope that you fight with the same desire Jack thought with. Amy Richards, I present to you the blue Vulcanodon DNA tube and I hope that you fight with the courage Zsa-Zsa fought with. Josh Wilkinson, I hand you the green triceratops DNA tube and I hope you fight with the spirit that Danny used. Finally, Zoey Russells, I give to you the pink pterodactyl DNA tube and hope you fight with the pride Annaka thought with."
The four teenagers gladly accepted the DNA tubes and held them like they were about to vanish in their hands. They had a high standard to keep up but they hoped that they would achieve the legacy the others had left for them. Kyle looked at his new team smiling with joy. James then spoke to them about rules and equipment and filling them in on the enemies.
It was around nine o'clock that the new dino team decided to split and all go to their homes. With a quick goodnight and see you for training, the castle door closed for the final time that day. Kyle stood in the corridor after waving his new team off before heading upstairs to get ready himself.
On the way, he bumped into James, who was leaving through the back exit to get to his house in the suburbs of the town. After that Kyle ran up the stairs but stopped at the bed corridor. He looked at every single door.
It was when he got to his own bedroom door that he realised the fat, warm tears that were running down his cheeks. A loud sob escaped from his mouth. His body began to shake and sobs began to turn into loud cries. He may have had friends and a new team but he had never felt more alone.
It had only hit him that he would never see their faces again. Each time he thought of them individually, a loud cry escaped and echoed through the castle as if he wanted someone to hear. As if he wanted Annaka to stomp out of her bedroom because his crying had interrupted her sleeping or as if he wanted Jack to come up and tell him to be strong. He cried louder because he wanted Zsa-Zsa to come up and offer to show off one of her lasted experiments and he cried as if Danny would hear him and slide down next to him with his arm loosely round his shoulders pulling him in for a hug. He cried louder because he wanted his mum to say goodnight and he cried louder because he wanted his dad to say 'baby bear' one last time. He cried louder because he didn't want the castle to be empty. He cried because he didn't want to be alone.
Kyle stood up still shaking. He wandered into Danny's room and grabbed the first green hoodie he could find then he ran into Jack's room and grabbed a pair of old black trackies. He slid his day clothes off and put his borrowed ones on. He climbed into bed and pulled the covers on over his head. To make him feel safer he burrowed his head into the hoodie.
It even smelt like Danny and there was a slight hint of Jack's scent as well. Kyle closed his eyes and tried to imagine that the defenders were all still in the living room watching TV and complaining about the attackers. He pretended that the creaks and squeaks of the floor boards were the sounds of the Jr defenders making their way to bed. If he shut his eyes tight then nothing would have changed. The adults were wrong. Change isn't good, it's bad.