Ch. 8

We knew the area well now and it wasn't long before we found the neighboring town. It was the place where we had tried to get the beds from, since it was closet. Now, seeing the town after such a long time, I felt like nothing had ever happened. I was walking side by side in town, for a mission or something, and I didn't want to kill something but this was the easiest and only known way, and I would look back to see all my freinds....
Except, my friends weren't there. Reality hit, I wasn't on a mission, and there was another and known way. That was our mission. To get to Trident Home, and tell them we don't need to kill, and that they never got the mission to kill everyone on the planet. Once again I got that lingering sense of dread, that doubt that it wouldn't be that easy.
But for now, we were getting supplies. We were just heading to the store, feeling uneasy walking out in the open in a place where we used to hide, when we saw someone struggling out the door.
"I know that look." I turned to Iku, who was watching the person with a knowing glance. "He's about to blow. He's a Target." I looked back with shock in my features. The boy was about our age if not a little younger, about eleven or twelve. He had a mixture of rage and pain on his face, of shock and confusion. It must have been what I looked like when I first found my parents dead.
"But, I didn't detonate! What's makes you think he will?"
"Shade, your the chosen! Of course you didn't detonate. But anybody else would. Nobody notices he's even sad right now, but let's get him out of here. It's dangerous to have him walk around here. We have to get him before detonation. Remember, anything can set a Target off after detonation, and we don't want to stalk him all day."
Sneaking up on him, when we got to his back we both grabbed an arm and ran, dragging the little boy behind us. Soon we were back in the woods.
"Are you okay?" I asked involuntarily.
"What do you mean are you okay? You just kidnapped me! What do you want from me!?"
"Don't get mad, we don't want you hurt."
"Don't get mad? Well, I'm already mad! I'm fed up, I don't want to talk to anyone, and that doesn't mean to take me away from town!" He took a step forward, and I saw he fingers glow blue. I reconized it as Mina's power, and one I used myself when I fought the All Mighty One. Just like when I used it, I saw that each blade of pressure came out of all his fingers at once, but each of these blades were growing in size and intensity.
"Iku, watch out!" We both jumped just as he flew at us, pressure coming from his feet also to propell him. Iku had made a shield from his pressure, while I had nothing. It was already hard for use to dodge his charges, but with the huge finger blades it was worse. If we even got touched by one we wouldn't make it out alive, and if we got hit it would crush our bones. The only reson we got a chance to predict his movement was because everytime he charged he would run into a tree, and we hand time before he could turn around.
"Iku, we can't hurt him! We have to wait until he runs out of pressure, but it shouldn't be too long because it's only detonation! We just have to protect the surrounding area!"
"How do we know this isn't an outburst? Then we would have to wait until he blacks out!"
"We'll just have to hope it isn't!" I caught my breath just as he passed me, the pressure blade nearly cutting me. I became more alert. "Iku, cover me!" Running, I passed the Target and went to a different area. Even though I felt bad for leaving him there was nothing I could do, since I couldn't use pressure to protect myself without blowing something up. Jumping up a tree, I got on a sturdy branch where I could see them. I automaticly moved my pressure towards my brain but stopped. The All Mighty One was gone, so was it safe to try messure? What if I just ended up killing myself? It didn't use pressure though, so it was the only thing to do. Leading the pressure slowly to my head and making sure it didn't get out of control, I only hoped it would work....
Suddenly Iku and the boy were blocked out of my vision, and all I saw was the raspberry pink of a vision. Instead of seeing a memory I was given information, and before my eyes I saw the boy, who I now knew for some reason was Jonathon. The slow voice of the All Mighty One filled my head.
"This is detonation, and will last only for six more minutes. The damage done won't be noticable, if you complete your task correctly. He just saw a horrible accident happen in the market he came out of, and as a witness he blames himself. He's also having problems with his social lofe, as the one he loves says he isn't doing anything to keep her there. He has no idea what to do, and doesn't know that tomorrow she will forgive him. " Suddenly, the voice got colder and more menacing. "You can not kill a god, Shade. I will only forgive because you were a worthy adversary. Remember that I was the one who gave you that power.
"... But to go against the vision tinted with blue is a sin. Your journey won't be an easy one..." The raspberry tint slowly began to fade as well as Jonathon's face, and Iku started to return to my vision. When the vision faded completely I felt my stomach twist in knots. Realizing I shouldn't have preformed messure on a tree branch, I lost my balance and fell.
Right in front of Jonathon.
I was about to be charged when Iku lept in front of me, scooping me into his arms just as Jonathon came. The daggers pirced his shield easily, but it slowed him down enough to get away. Although the blades never touched Iku, the engery radiating off of them was enough to irrate the skin on his side, leaving red flesh visible through the large holes in his shirt.
"Jump on a tree!" Iku nodded. Unable to jump normally, he pressed pressure against his feet and we rised onto a strudy branch. Unable to control himself, Jonathon continued to run in circles, cutting down trees.
"Why did you fall from the tree?" Iku asked, his voice rigid with pain.
"Iku, messure still works."
"What?"
"That's the name Grace gave to the power Head Pressurists use. Anyway, the All Mighty One isn't dead. And, this is going to last around five more minutes."
"Then I got to get back down there!"
"No! Your hurt and you won't be able to run. You can't dodge him in this state. The damage he will do won't be noticable, so we can let him wear himself out." Suddenly I started coughing, blood oozing from my mouth. It lasted only seconds though, and soon I was wiping it off. Iku looked at me with wide eyes, but said nothing. We both knew the consequences for using messure. Soon I began to feel better, and Jonathon was slowing. It was only a matter of time before he stopped.
And he did. He lay at the side of the treeless circle he created, resting beside a jagged stump. I jumped down, and saw him get up unsteadily.
"What.... What was that? What are these things flying inside of me?!" I walked calmly, hoping not to startle him.
"That's the pressure inside of you. Before, when we took you, it was probably much more powerful. Now you have used a lot of it." I crouched so I was at his eye level. To think I used to be that short!
"We were trying to make sure that when you detonated you didn't hurt anybody. A lot of pressure's probably on you, right Jonathon?" He flinched, wondering why I knew his name. I smiled. "She's going to forgive you tomorrow."
"W-w-what!? How do you know about that?" I tapped the side of my head.
"I just happen to know. Don't worry, I wasn't stalking you. If we did this right, you shouldn't have an outburst-er, explode like that again. Relax. If the source of your pressure goes away, so will those things flying inside of you. If it continues though, take it easy." I waved, then walked away to help Iku out of the tree. "Be careful, okay?"
Even with my back turned, I knew he nodded. He ran out of the forest and back into the city, probably to count the hours until it's tomorrow. I got Iku down, and then helped him walk into the city, though it was slow going. We followed a little bit of road, but as soon as we got into the city a care stopped beside us. The door opened and a man only years older than us ran to us.
"Are you okay?" The man was tall, with friendly eyes that were a dark color. His black hair bounced as he ran, and the first three buttons of the white coat he was wearing were unbuttoned, revealing a black shirt. silver studs shined on his ears, and his voice sounded with worry.
"Um, I am, but..." I looked at Iku with worry. The man was standing beside us now.
"Do you need a ride? Oh, that sounded like I'm going to kidnap you! No, um, let's see.... I'm Bill! I'm training at med school as a doctor, and if you need help...." He noticed first our clothes, covered with dirt and scratches, as well as the large wound on Iku. the, he saw our few bags, with the remainder of our food and money.
"You're not from here, are you? You can't go to a hotel like that, they won't be able to help you! If you want, you guys can stay at my house. I can treat you and lend you some food."
"No, you don't ha-" I stopped, looking at Iku. "That would be very helpful, sir, erm, Bill." Bill broke out in a smile, then opened the passenger door to his car and ushered us inside.
Honestly, it was my first time in a car. My parents couldn't get one, with us living in an alley we would have nowhere to put one as well as we hadn't the money. It was different then the school bus. It was more compact but.... Cozy.
Bill watched us with the rearveiw mirror, and asked us simple questions. Me and Iku sunk into the seats, loving the feel of cusions and not the cold ground where we had been sleeping and traveling. It was also much better than the bed at Trident Home.
After only minutes we were ushered inside a house. Bill immediately got on Iku's  injuries.
"I'm not going to ask how he got it, but I will say I haven't seen anything like it. I have the right tools though, so he should be fine." He looked me over to, which I had to say at first was a bit uncomfortable, but he was just like a normal doctor. We ended up chatting with us over dinner (I didn't know I was so hungry!) and soon were put in a room to sleep.
"No, we can sleep together. We've been doing it for a while."
"Oh, so your siblings? Sister and brother?"
"Uh... Yeah!" As we entered the room and left Bill on the other side of the door, I smiled apologeticly.
"Sorry, I'm not to good at improvising. But look at how lucky we are! Your fixed up, and there's a room with a nice bed. Without the cost of a hotel, we should be able to have enough money for supplies to get to the new base of Trident Home, even if we get lost!"
"Yeah, but whose clothes are these?" Bill was washing our clothes, and we were given new ones. They were kind of small, probably for a small child who had large sleeping clothes.
"How should I know? We don't know this guy. Anyway, let's get somw sleep. I'm tired." Upon feeling the matress, me and Iku were asleep instantly.
Still, I had that nightmare. The one with Nadia.... I woke up in the middle of the night with tears rolling down my cheeks. Getting up, it took me a few minutes to realize I was in one of Bill's rooms. Wiping my eyes, I examined my surroundings as best as I could in the dim lighting. I looked past a small table, a lamp, and an easle when I saw it. At first i rubbed my eyes, thinking it was sleep or the remanents of my dream. But then she was still there, staring at me.
Nadia.
I gently crawled out of bed, still not believing, but there she was. Taking a step forward, I started to make out the diffrent pencil strokes. Taking another step, I saw a small caption at the bottom corner of tthe picture. Walking up it it, I read as best I could in the moonlight.
'Hope to see you soon, step sister! Be happy with dad! -Bill.'
They were step siblings. I couldn't have connected them-they looked nothing alike. The children of different parents. But yet, here she was. I stepped back, my foot chilling on the cold wooden floor. What if he knew? What if he knew that I was there when she died? What if he tried to come during the night-
No. There was no way he could have known. Still, he was probably waiting for her to come back, from that town so far away where I used to live. I was paranoid. Walking into bed, I fell asleep again with tears staining my face, my hand covering my throat.