Chapter 5
"Why do you want to hurt me?" I am pressing down hard on the nurse call button.
"I don't want to hurt you," she replies. "I'm helping get back what was taken from us."
"What are you talking about?"
"You and me, Rinfi. We can do anything. We can rule everything. But she is trying to take that away from us. She is trying to separate us. She shouldn't be doing that. It only ends up hurting you."
Oura walks closer and closer to my bed as she continues her monolog. No nurse is here yet. Oura is different from when I first met her down by the river. The magical, safe feeling about her is gone. Something sinister has taken its place.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I say.
"I spent so much time looking for you. She thought I would never find you. But she was wrong. Dead wrong. And this is how you repay me for finding you, for saving you? You resist me and make me hurt you. Just let me in, Rinfi, and this will all be over quickly and painlessly. Well, not painlessly."
"No!" I scream. I am no longer scared of her but angry. "I don't want you here and you're not hurting me!"
Oura screams in pain, holding her head. I scream in pain, also holding my head. Then Oura dissolves and does not return. She didn't return that night or years after. I thought I would never see her again. I was wrong.
I wake up to sunlight streaming from the window. I feel hung over. Sage is sitting next to the bed. The soreness of my body distracts me from appreciating waking up to that looking at me. His face doesn't look as handsomely scary as it did before. He eyes have some kindness behind them today.
"We were beginning to worry that you'd never wake up," says Rowen. I turn my head. I am in Sage and Rowen's room. Sage places a cool washcloth on my forehead.
"Don't move around too much," he says. "You'll reopen your wounds, and I spent all night wrapping them."
"You've been out for two days, Rinfi," says Rowen.
"What happened? Where are the others?"
"The woman vanished again. Hasn't reappeared yet and the guys are out getting some dinner. You thirsty? Want me to get you something to drink, Rin?"
"That would be great. I'll have a Coke—"
"—water. She'll have water," interrupts Sage.
"Right. A water," says Rowen with a wink. Rowen leaves.
"How did you know? I mean, about the little girl?" I ask Sage.
"I sensed something around you. Felt it when I first saw you at your home. Something is following you. Very persistent. It's been attached to your back so I haven't been able to do anything until it unlatched itself from you that night."
"What is she?"
"I don't know. Mia is researching about the girl and that black armor now."
"I mean what do you think it is? You saved me Sage and showed me that am not going completely insane and seeing things. What do you think she is?"
"A demon."
"A demon? I have a demon on my back?"
"No. You used to have a demon on your back. She's separated herself from you now but that doesn't mean she is gone. You probably encountered her when you were young and wouldn't remember it." Well, he's half right about the demon.
"And…what if I remember encountering her as a child like twice when I was a child?"
"Hmm…" Before Sage can reply, Rowen walks into the room with a glass of water and a can of Coke Zero.
"One sip ain't gonna hurt her," he says before Sage can object to the coke. I drink down the glass of water and take one (giant) sip from the soda can. My body can hold liquids like a water buffalo.
"You had everyone scared," says Rowen. "First, you take a swim in the lake and then you go running off into the woods. And there's something out there that wants to hurt you."
"I was a little scared myself," I reply. "And I don't think she only wants to hurt me, not now anyway." Rowen looks like he wants to ask me something but he holds it back.
"I don't know," I say. "Whatever it is, I don't know."
"Hmm…" they both say.
"I think you know more about what is going than you lead on, Rinfi," Rowen finally says. "But who am I to argue with an injured friend." Friend? I am friend?
Sage carefully changes my bandages. I'm beyond embarrassed. I'm in nothing but my pajama boxer shorts and a tank top. And it's cold so my nipples are at full attention. The bandages still have blood on them, and after two days of beauty sleep, I am still tired.
Rowen leaves to get me some more water.
"You're lucky to be alive," Sage says after Rowen leaves. "This would have killed most people. This should have killed you. Make sure to give Kento a hug when the others come to see you. He hasn't slept at all. He blames himself ten times over for what happened. The guys' trip out for food is mostly for his benefit." I remember that Sage has a younger sister around my age. His older brother side is showing right now.
I close my eyes and nudge my head further into my pillow. I hate sleeping on my back, but I have no choice. I'm too tired. Before I doze off, Sage tells me to fight my nightmares. How does he know Oura is in my nightmares?
"Lose your mind, lose your body," he says. "She will tell you that you are equals. You're not. She's only as strong as you allow her to be."
Sage tightens my new bandages as I fall asleep to his words. I fall asleep, knowing she'll be in here…somewhere.
I lay in a field of tall, yellow grasses that sways back and forth from slight breeze. The sunlight is warm and casts an orange hue on the world.
I hear Chun Fa laughing in the distance. She is off to my left, playing with one of her dolls Grandma made for her. Mei Ryu and Yun are wrestling near there, keeping an eye on their younger sister.
I call to them, asking them what they are doing here. No response. They do not stop what they are doing. Younger siblings, even in another world, they never listen. I leave them and walk through the field to the large tree standing by itself. The tree is out of place in the field. There is a little girl sitting against the tree. The shadow of the tree conceals her identity. I know better.
"Oura," I say. "I know its you."
"Oura?" asks the little girl. Her voice is soft, sweet like Chun Fa's, not harsh and creepy like Oura's.
"I'm sorry, little girl. I thought you were someone else. I couldn't see you too well under that tree." The little girl stands up and walks out from under the tree's shadow. Her face is similar to Oura's but softer and more childlike. Her hair is long and black. Her eyes are green. She wears a green kimono dress and gold slippers.
"You really need to keep track of this place," she says. "You haven't been here in sometime. Thinking I'm Oura, give me a break." So much for the little girl being sweet like Chun Fa.
"I said I was sorry, little girl. Wait, you know Oura?"
"Like I said, you haven't been here in sometime."
"What is this place?"
"It's my dream," says the little girl, staring up into the tree's branches. "I allow you to rent space here from time to time. Hence, your younger siblings running around, destroying my wild grass. It doesn't bother me. It's nice to see family."
"So I'm in your dream?"
"My world. I made this world for us. You don't really remember anything, do you?" I just stare at her, thinking about my life choices thus far. What is with me and weird little girls?
"That's unfortunate. We can't really do much with you until you start to remember things. You're not really much use to me right now."
"Do what? And remember what? Little girl, you are not making any sense. I came here to fight Oura and I want her here—" I don't stop myself. Shut up, you idiot. The curse of the Rei Fuan clan is to have too many words, big mouths, little impulse control, stubborn hearts, and short tempers.
"Idiot," huffs the little girl.
"—now!" My last word snaps out of my mouth like a whip, cracking the tree down the middle. The peaceful orange hue of the world quickly dies and turns dark green, spoiling and rotting before.
"It took me forever to get her out of here and now you invite her back in again!" says the little girl.
"I'm sorry, Becka," I say.
"Said that the last time too."
"Hey. I know your name. But I still don't know who you are and where we are and what the hell you are talking about or what the hell is going on."
"Memory works in mysterious ways, Rinfi." Large wings sprout from the little girl's back and wrap around the child. A woman in a silver armor appears after the wings reopen. Her armor resembles Oura's black armor only Becka's armor comes with armored wings which are awesome.
A sudden and familiar pain overcomes my body. I fall to the ground, holding my head. Becka is shouting something to me, but the strong wind blowing between us prevents me from hearing a word.
Becka is now in the air, holding her bow and pointing an arrow at me. I feel my body slowly change into someone else's. Becka releases the arrow. The arrow stabs into my chest, and I dissolve into a million tiny specks of gold light.
I wake up, screaming and kicking. Sage's hand is firmly on my chest, pushing me back down on the bed and holding me still while I work through waking up through my dream.
Eventually, my body's soreness stops my kicking. Sage is sitting next to me, the rest of the guys are scattered through the room. There is one person I do not recognize. He is sitting in the corner of the room; his long, straight brown hair covers most of his face. He is dressed in clothes that are definitely not from this time.
All the guys are staring at me, only they are staring at something slightly above me. There is a glow in the room that is not coming from the lamps but coming from me. I touch my forehead and burn my hand.
"Ouch. Son of a—" The glow disappears from the room. After wetting my finger with my mouth, I dare to touch my forehead again. Nothing but my oily and sweaty forehead.
"Rinfi, are you okay?"
"Anubis, what just happen?"
"The sun armor of Myra," replies the man.
"The what armor of what?"
"Anubis, what are you talking about?"
"Sis, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Kento. Quit asking. Is your name seriously Anubis?" I ask the man. He smiles