another flashback to a couple of months ago.
I awoke with a start, a glance around to assess my surroundings indicated that it was my hotel room and it was early morning, I looked down and to my right and saw Hunter who was sleeping at my bedside, I looked to my left and there was his redheaded doppelgänger… or his son, it seems like it was both, anyways, he was also asleep, but at the other side of my bed.
"You had us going there for a bit." A 12-year-old girl's voice caught my ear, my head turned so quickly, you'd swear I'd give myself whiplash, The little girl Ninja was wide awake and sitting on the other bed next to the rest of her fast asleep family, They were out like lights while sitting up and they were leaning against each other, the two male ninjas were on either side of Tori. "I'm Sally, You just missed everyone, they all fell asleep just as you woke up, they would be so relieved and happy you're all right." She stood to her feet and approached my bed.
Space Ruby had Rien's words about the Bradlys protective nature and Hunter's about one's own personal boogeyman possibly wanting to protect one from a more deadly threat ring in my head, calming me down a little bit.
Poor kid's got a smile on her face and I have to wipe it off. "Right up until they see how I'm going to recover and think otherwise." I said. "I don't know why it happens, but even minor injuries weaken me significantly."
"What happens?" She asked, her smile indeed drooping into a concerned expression. "Do you get sick?"
"I don't know if it can be called that, but so much as one twisted ankle and I'm bedridden for up to a month, i've been to doctors and they can't explain how that's possible." I said.
"Maybe my mom took care of that without even knowing." Sally said. "She healed your shoulder before anything particularly bad could happen."
"Way to hope for the best." The moment I thought about it, I didn't actually feel weak like I used to in the aftermath of a minor injury, not even like the very last time. "So far, not bad."
After a minute of silence, I felt a chill, but the type of chill I've only ever heard of. "Okay, it probably sounds stupid of me to ask this because we are at the Oregon coast, but do you feel that?" Sally asked, evidently, I wasn't the only one to feel that chill.
"I did, and there's only one way to find out if it's what I think it is." I said, Holding my hand out, balling it into a fist before opening it up again to reveal space Ruby. "It's most likely what they call an apparition." I felt her watch me take space Ruby in both my hands as it glowed. "Show it to me." A translucent person materialized, The little ninja girl stared at him with eyes full of tears.
He was… Hawaiian? Or a Pacific Islander or… probably not the point, he had a ninja uniform on, the red decor matched the sleeping redhead's, but the base color of the uniform was white instead of black.
"Shane?" Sally asked. "He really is always with us." The person, Shane smiled.
Shane opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out, poor guy… Or… Soul, the dead really don't talk because they can't.
Too insensitive and disrespectful? Sorry, moving on.
"Is this the guy you guys have been telling everybody so much about?" I asked.
"Yep, that's Shane… or his ghost." Sally answered, her almond shaped blue eyes lined with tears. "We really miss him."
Neither I nor Shane could help but shoot each other a curious look, then it suddenly seemed as though he recognized me from somewhere.
"We've met before, haven't we?" I asked, earning a shrug from him, but that's when it occurred to me. "Were you there when Toru pulled me out of that pond when I hit my head." He smiled and nodded as if to say he thinks so. "You helped revive me?"
"Uncle Shane saved your life, how old were you then?" Sally asked.
"Eight years of age." Was my answer, it all made sense to me now, except for the part where Toru was passed up to be trained by ninjas in favor of Rien.
Dr. Kirk and Melanie Morgan were just beginning to have Bridget and her siblings learn how to save lives when they were twelve, therefore there was no way Toru saved my life on his own.
A yawn escaped from Sally's lips , she rubbed her eyes. "Sorry, guys." She mumbled.
"I'm sure there's still time for you to get some sleep." I said, it was early morning after all.
"Thanks for pointing that out Marissa." The little ninja girl yawned before curling up next to me and using my lap as a pillow, as for me, one literal blink and I woke up in my own bed.
Yet another flashback, what was the deal?
…
Freshman orientation day three, my last class for the day just wrapped up and I just so happened to come across the windowed door to the classroom that held first aid class, at that moment, they were practicing CPR on the mannequins, of which, you guessed it, Silas was a student.
He gave his mannequin two rescue breaths before placing his hands on the chest and compressed it, the mental image speaks for itself especially with what I'm most concerned about.
Suddenly, a scream, it sounded like it rung from the right of Silas so to the right, my gaze turned and saw another one of the students screaming at the site of another student staring in horror at his now standing upright mannequin, everyone laughed so hard at this… Except for Silas who stifled his own laughter. "Class dismissed." The teacher chuckled, I hightailed it out of there before I got in anybody's way.
The moment I got out of the campus and onto an outdoor bench that overlooks the academy parking lot, I barely got a minute to myself while I waited for my godparents to pick me up when almost suddenly…
"Hey, Marissa; wait up." Silas's voice rang out as he got closer to me, my heart pounding a mile a minute. "Am I getting annoying?" He looked concerned as if I appeared injured.
"No." I shook my head, standing up. "Don't get me wrong, you guys are kind, it's just not easy for me to believe that it's not too good to be true." I finally said, swiveling in Silas's direction, seeing Lance and Cato with him.
"Yeah? Had to be hard, huh?" Silas said sympathetically. "Leaving Oregon behind?"
"Yes it is, I left the coolest friends behind." I explained, not knowing whether he would believe me, but I had to get it off my chest. "I was friends with the Morgan family."
"The Morgan family, Cape catfish Morgan family?" Cato asked. "That's hardcore, more so than Silas's situation."
"What made you leave?" Lance asked.
"I've already told you about it in my first share in former homeschoolers anonymous." Probably the saddest two-way street ever as well. "If not for my parents, I'd fit in, but if not for Society, it wouldn't matter and I'd be happy." I sulked. "Isn't that miserable?"
"Try being a foreigner on top of that as well." Was Silas's answer, Caius, Lance and Cato all nodded in agreement. "But at least, my mother had a valid excuse, at least when I think about everyone else and their little complaints about being homeschooled in such an anti-homeschooling paradigm."
"You and Caius were on-the-run-schooled." I said, trying and hopefully succeeding to not sounding so snarky, his little effect on me may freak me out, but I would take my chances with it, if the effect meant what anyone I talk to about it claims it to be.
I must have succeeded because Silas smiled. "Seemingly, the one walking non-misnomer in the world, my mother, an on-the-run-school-mother." I wish my parents were exactly that so that it would justify what I was put through, even if falsely so.
"I see, you did call it that before, I don't really mean to pry, but what exactly were you running from?" Do you know that one feeling of curiosity were you can't help but pry? That was me at that moment, little did I know…
Skynet's Zombafied rejects appeared almost out of thin air and in front of our eyes, Silas stepped in front of me and sunk into a fighting stance in response.
"Them, I take it." I said, you know my experience, I narrated my flashbacks to you, an encounter with these things was expected to be disastrous compared to the Kappa, especially if I was too skinny to even stand an inkling of a chance.
Help fight them. Space ruby said. You know how to do that, don't you?
You are not incorrect. I admitted. But aren't you overestimating me?
"Stay behind me, Marissa." Silas ordered, I obeyed but not before turning my back to his and sinking into a fighting stance of my own, what was I supposed to do? Cower until one of a thousand things happen? Space Ruby didn't say to.
"Right, Silas." Was my response, boy did I wish The Power Rangers and/or the Bradlys were there to save us this very moment?
One of those things attacked, but I am too quick to not knock it's clammy fist out of the way before crescent kicking it off to the side. did I overestimate that? Space Ruby asked, it did not.
"What the new girl do?" I heard Lance exclaim.
You win. I told space Ruby in frustration. They don't. Another one of those things attacked, overestimation or no, it was go time.
Adrenaline did cause me to blackout for the duration of the fight, but I did manage to catch myself punching and kicking these things.
"Now there's the opponent I sparred at that tournament over a year ago." I heard Silas say when the fight was over and I regained my bearings.
My peripheral vision caught something or someone, it was shaped vaguely like a someone, but just as quickly as my eyes caught them, they were gone, what even was going on?
"We should probably get out of here." Silas suggested, sitting on the ground and holding his side where he was probably hit, not a drop of blood was to be seen on him, I could only imagine a bruise discoloring his abdomen, that abdomen of stone.
"Yeah, we better not press our luck." I panted in agreement, holding out my hand to help him up, he just tapped it away and tried to get back up again on his own and sort of succeeded, but not before losing his balance for a split second and almost falling on top of me. "Whoa, careful." One of my hands flew to his abdomen and the other to his shoulder, both to keep him on his feet so that he wouldn't squish me between himself and the ground and both felt really strong.
A lump caught my breath in my throat, he was so close to me, our foreheads gently tapped, my eyes darting between the concerned, but fierce look in his eyes and the black currant colored turtleneck sweater that covered his entire torso, the mental image of what was underneath crossed my mind, oh heart, just give out now so I can escape the embarrassment, please, are you really that much stronger than the rest of me?
"Thanks." He said, biting his lip, using his free hand to pat me on the back as gently as he could without breaking my spine, that much strength in one finger, enough of it to hurt someone if careless with it seemed intimidating… then again, I know you know, I'll leave you with that.
I tried to say "you're welcome" or "no problem" or even "my pleasure", but that lump practically choked me, The closer Silas was, the more I could feel said lump obstructing my airways.
"Oi, what was that? It was amazing." We heard Cato shout, we looked away from each other in the same direction and saw the others.
"With moves like that, how are you so skinny?" Lance asked, I could feel Penny silently shooting me that head to toe look the same way an archer shoots a Target.
"Guys, if you're not gonna be of any help, leave her alone." Silas said, picking up on my momentarily struggle to breathe, waiting for the need to jump into action. "Are you alright? Can you try to take a deep breath?"
I did as I was asked, in through the nose and out through the mouth my breath went, that lump dissolved with each repeat of the cycle, first time in three days of knowing Silas have I been able to breathe in Silas's close presence, now if my heart could just slow down below the 100 BPM ball park in his presence.
"Are they back, Silash?" Caius Anxiously asked, Silas's nodding was the answer.
"Do you think Kylie should know?" I asked, unsure if that should've been brought up.
"She has a right to know." Silas answered. "If we're lucky, Mother will be sick and tired of running." He shot me a look that made me blush. "The last traumatic event was almost fatal."
Wait A minute, no half a second, "the last traumatic event"?
"Guys!" I heard Auntie Katherine shout.