Chapter 14

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

A gentle light was just starting to touch part of the tall buildings as I reached the school.

I landed on the roof, slowly emerging from the owl form, taking in my surroundings. Everything was silent, and almost still. I couldn't even hear a bird chirp.

The eery silence made me uneasy, but I knew this was the best place to start my search.

I went over to the rooftop door, opening it and looking down the dark stairs that greeted me.

I took a deep breath, feeling truly afraid for the first time since I left the lair, grabbing onto the rails and starting to descend the stairs.

No going back now...

I reached the bottom, letting my eyes adjust to the darkness.

I could see small slits of light start starting to come through the open doors of the classrooms as I looked around the corner.

The corridors seemed to stretch on forever, and I slowly started to move forwards.

This early in the morning, the school was pretty much dead.

I tried to keep my composure as I walked along, part of me wishing I was back in Donnie's arms, that this was just a bad dream and I'd wake up.

But I knew it wasn't. This was my reality, and I couldn't go back now.

The stillness of the school put me on edge a little as I walked along, finally finding the room that we had all been in.

It had been turned back into a normal school room, and I stopped at the door.

The light coming in from the window was stretching across the floor, and I couldn't help but stare. Images flashed through my head, Serah stood in here...

Would I ever see her again?

I closed my eyes for a moment, seeing her happy smile, images of places and events going through my head.

I remembered the first day I'd met her. She had come right up to me, no fear, and held out a hand, introducing herself and welcoming me to the school.

"Hey, I'm Serah! You're the new girl yeah?" Her smile was almost catching as I shook her hand.

"Jade. I just moved here from-"

"Oh, I know. I heard the teacher" She giggled, almost dragging me over to her table and sitting me down. I got some strange looks, but soon Serah was talking to me like we'd always known each other.

Even when she didn't need to be friendly, she was. She'd made me feel safe here...

Then I remembered watching her fall, opening my eyes and looking at the spot where Tony had caught her.

For some reason, my attention was drawn to the chalk board, finding myself heading over to it and looking at the little designs the girls had left. Those girls, were now safe. I didn't hear where they were, but I knew Ithiell had taken somewhere safe. Would the be up at the valley? I wasn't sure.

My fingers trailed over the chalk, finding a little respite in the curves and colours.

Part of me knew I should be hurrying, but another part of me just couldn't bring myself to do so. My life seemed to be in slow motion, and I couldn't make sense of any of it.

I managed to pull myself away from the patterns, turning and reaching inside my pocket, pulling out a small piece of cloth. It was from the dress Serah had worn that Friday. She'd gotten it caught on something in the lair, and I only noticed the next day, picking it up and intending to give it to her, but I'd forgotten.

Now, it would, hopefully, lead me to her.

I placed it gently on the ground, starting my shift into a Jinnaw.

When I was done, I caught her scent from the cloth, the room almost lighting up with her smell. It showed me everywhere she had been in this room, almost like a painted marker. I followed it slowly out the door, finding the corridor almost lit up like a beacon. She had been up and down this hall many times before...

I tried to keep to the most recent scent I could pick up, my nose to the floor. I followed it down the hallway, then I picked up something else.

Surprisingly, it seemed a hair pin had been dropped. I sniffed it, smelling Serah all over it.

Had she been wearing a hair pin yesterday? I couldn't remember.

The scent on it smelled fresh, and I followed it further down the hall, and around a corner.

I almost jumped down the stairs, landing almost silently, then took another leap down to get to the next floor.

The scent moved away from the stairwell, going what seemed to be more classrooms, which was odd.

Unless they had taken her somewhere else, after I'd escaped, cause Kristiana...

I stopped in the middle of the hallway, struck by how cold she was. I knew... I knew it wasn't the real Kristiana. The real Kristiana was probably screaming in the back of her own mind, trying to gain some small piece of control.

Come on, back to it.

I shook my head, turning my focus back on following the scent.

I almost smacked into a door, looking up and finding it was a supply closet.

But...why would they put her in here?

I shifted back, opening the door.

To my disappointment, Serah wasn't in here. I had a feeling she wasn't, but it still didn't make sense.

Knock her out, throw her into a supply closet, but why?

I shifted back to Jinnaw, picking up her scent again, now even more confused. It smelt like she'd been in here for hours.

Why leave her in here for hours? Why not just haul her off with everyone else? Or even take her as soon as the turtles had shown up?

The recent scent left the room, turning back towards the stairs.

I was surprised to find this scent now leading me back up the stairs, and then back into the room. I didn't know why I hadn't picked it up earlier. I followed it back to the window, which was still broken from my body falling through it.

I placed my paws up on the sill, sniffing and finding what I could have sworn was the smell of hand sweat. Serah's...

A billion questions ran through my mind as I shifted back, staring at the window.

Why would her hands be on the window sill, after she'd been-

"Unless... " The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them, looking up and staring at the sun now rising over the rooftops.

Could she have escaped? But no, she'd been drugged, hadn't she?

I saw her fall...

A small sliver of hope went through me, wondering if maybe she had faked it. She'd seen everyone else falling... maybe she played a long?

I moved, shoving the closed part of the window open, looking down to where the glass was still scattered on the ground. I felt the wind pick up my ponytail a little, moving it across my cheek.

Could she have come back up to look for me? Her hands had been on the window sill, maybe even...

An vicious scream snapped me out of my thought, spinning around to see none other than a very angry Kristiana there, running at me.

I was only able to move a little before she slammed into me, her hands going around my throat and smashing me through another closed window. I grabbed at her hands, trying to claw them off me as she used her weight to push me as hard as she could, until I was half hanging out the window.

I scratched at her hands, finding it was no use, she was too strong.

"You little bitch cost me!" Kristiana growled, her hands tightening on my throat, and I threw out a blind kick, pushing her backwards and making her let go of me. I pulled myself away from the window, collapsing on the ground and holding my throat, coughing heavily. I saw she was now holding her stomach.

I managed to stand up a little, watching as she now gained her composure as well, her normal pretty blue eyes cold as steel now.

"You!" She came at me again, and I swung my arm out, catching her in the throat and knocking her down, the tables crashing around her. I moved to get away from her, finding an arm was wrapped around my leg, tugging me hard.

My chin hit the ground hard, and I bit my lip, turning over to find her straddling my hips now, her fist pulled back.

I managed to catch the first punch, missing the next and finding it connect with my cheek, then another to the temple, managing to lift my arms to try and protect my head and face from the wild punches that were being thrown at me.

"Oh no you-" Suddenly a hard punch to my injured side, pain shooting through me and making me move my arms down a little. I gasped for breath, barely being able to block any more punches to the face.

I had to go on the offense, or she'd probably end up killing me!

I fought to grab her hands, which were still wildly trying to punch at my face and side, managing to use the strength I had in my legs to flip her off me, going to move to get up, finding she was already landing a kick to my side, knocking me down and onto more tables and chairs, feeling them all collapse under my weight.

"I lost you, I lost my new hosts... " She stood over me, her eyes now icy.

I took the opportunity to grab her leg with both of mine, twisting and making her cry out, sending her crashing to the ground near me, more tables scattering.

I fought to get up as she did, holding my injured side and using an upright table as leverage, leaning on it a little when I was up.

"Boo hoo, you lost some hosts...who cares" I spat, glaring at her and watching as she got to her feet, realising she must have hit her face on one of the tables. Her lip started to bleed.

"I have now been demoted because of you. Lost my tittle... everything!" She snarled, coming at me but I got a lucky hit in, making her fall back to the ground, holding her cheek.

"So you came here to sulk?" I offered, watching as she got up and backing up a little. I was finally feeling the ache on my face from all of her earlier hits. Although my side was feeling alot worse now. If I didn't have any broken bones before, I sure would now...

"No!" She snapped, making a run at me, but I managed to land a good kick to her neck, seeing her crash into more tables, shrieking angrily.

My side made a protest, pain shooting all through the left side of my body, having to bend over a little as I watched her get up again. She now looked beyond furious.

She screamed wordlessly, running at me again, but this time I couldn't move fast enough, my back hitting one of the tables on the floor as she landed over me, hands around my throat again. Her legs pinned mine as I once again tried feebly to loosen her grip.

"I don't care if Visser Three thinks I'm wasting a host, I want you dead!" She screamed madly, her grip tightening, slamming my head into the floor over and over as she did.

I felt warm liquid on the back of my head coming out, knowing if I couldn't get her off me soon I'd be a mess of scattered parts everywhere on the floor.

I managed to make a feeble grab for the dagger, struggling with one hand to get it out my waistband and the cloth, my other hand still trying to loosen her grip and failing.

She finally stopped smashing my head into the ground, now bringing her face right up to mine.

"Say your prayers you little-"

She suddenly let out a strangled sound, her grip loosening and moving back to let go of me, looking down at the dagger that was now protruding from her side. As she moved, I twisted it in further, making her gasp and collapse off me. I finally got the upper hand pinning her down under me as she stared at me in utter shock. It was then I realised...

"Get out of her, Yeerk. Get out of her now" I growled, yanking the blade out, then re positioning it over her head, my hands shaking uncontrollably.

"No" Her answer seemed more in shock than anything. She grabbed at her side, trying to stop the blood from spilling out of her side.

"Get out, and I might let you live" I grasped the handle with both hands, preparing to bring it down.

She suddenly smiled, and before I could wonder what, something was pressed up against the back of my head.

"You... kill me... you die too..." She gasped out, and I could see blood was spilling from her mouth now. I didn't have long at all.

"So be it!" I yelled, my arms going back and hearing the safety click off what I realised now was a gun.

"NO!" Came the yell, and the gun fired, finding it had been knocked away from my head just in time. I then heard a thump, looking over to see a male controller was on the ground, and above him...

"Donnie?" I wondered, trying to breathe, watching he dropped his Bo, coming over to me, hands now on my cheeks.

"Why would you do that?! Why would you..." Tears sprung to his eyes, and I felt a horrible sense of guilt rising in my gut.

A sudden laugh from under me brought me back to reality, and I looked down as I took in the situation.

My arms were still above my head, and Donnie was beside me. Below me, was Kristiana. Or, the Yeerk that called herself Kristiana.

"Turtle has a soft spot for the girl" She laughed again, then coughed out more blood. Donnie let go of me, and I put the dagger down.

"Yeerk, this is your last chance. You can either die with the girl, or come out and we might let you live long enough to see a trial"

"Jade"

She stared at me, closing her eyes. That's when I saw something start to leave her ear, yanking it when I saw enough of it was out, throwing it onto the other side of the room.

Kristiana herself wasn't moving. I moved off her, then checked her pulse to find she'd fallen unconscious, stripping my shirt off and putting some pressure against her side. I just hoped she'd last long enough-

"Jade" I looked over at Donnie, who I was surprised to see his face quivering. I had never seen him so afraid...

"You almost got yourself killed!" He grabbed my shoulders, pulling me towards him slightly "And for what?!"

"Donnie-" I rested a hand on his arm "I just didn't want to get you hurt. I had to-"

"Don't you ever do that to me again! I won't hear of it!"

It jarred some dark part of me, and I blinked, a tear falling down my cheek.

What have I done?

In trying to fix it, I'd almost caused Donnie the worst pain imaginable. If he had been a split second later...

I turned him to look at me, tears now flowing down my cheeks.

"Never" Donnie touched his forehead to mine, and I sighed, knowing we needed to move.

The next job was to get Kristiana to the others before it was too late.

'x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Hope you liked it!

This chapter was inspired by two songs. Fire in the Water, by Fiest (for the first half), and Until We Go Down, by Ruelle (For the second half)

And as always, Constructive Criticism appreciated :D