Darkness from Within #5: Uneasy Trust (A Ninjago Fanfiction)

Chapter 2

The next morning, Zane walked up the stairs, heading for Lloyd's room. He was going to wake the green ninja up for breakfast and he tried his best to push down his fear. He remembered how Lloyd had come so close to attacking them last night and he didn't know how the green ninja would react to his waking him up. But Garmadon had explained the green ninja had only been afraid, and Zane was determined to make Lloyd's come-home as easy as he could for the green ninja's sake. It'll be our first meal as a family again, he thought with optimism.

He quietly creaked open Lloyd's bedroom door. "Lloyd?" he called. As soon as he stepped into the bedroom, a rush of cold air hit his face. He staggered backward in surprise before steadying himself again. Why is it so cold in here?

Shivering, Zane shuffled forward and found the window wide open. Why would Lloyd have the window open in the middle of winter? he wondered. Shaking his head, his eyes widened as he noticed what a mess the room was. Right after we just cleaned it, too.

He guessed Lloyd was just in a rush to settle in and he'd properly clean up today. He was pretty anxious last night.

Zane walked over to Lloyd's bed, but the green ninja wasn't on it. Blinking in confusion, Zane turned around and spotted Lloyd's blanket on the floor. He frowned and headed over to it, finding Lloyd lying there on the floor with only one murdered pillow and one thin blanket. The green ninja was sleeping soundly and wasn't shivering a bit despite the cool wind blowing from the outside.

Zane gazed down at him, awfully confused at his strange behavior. But he couldn't help but notice how deeply Lloyd was sleeping, as if he really needed it. Zane felt a rush of sympathy for the green ninja. He must not get a lot of rest time with the Baddies, he realized.

Not being able to bring himself to wake Lloyd up, Zane quietly crept back to the door and closed it behind him. He walked down the hall and down the stairs, entering the dining room.

"Where's Lloyd?" Garmadon asked when Zane joined them at the table.

"I figured I'd let him sleep," Zane replied. "He seemed pretty knocked out."

Cole felt suspicion harden inside of him as the others started eating. He didn't touch his food as he stared at the steps to the upstairs. Should we really be leaving Lloyd up there alone? he thought. Yes, he's sleeping, but he could wake up at any minute.

Cole poked Kai, who was beside him. "Hey," he whispered. "Do you know where your elemental sword is?"

Kai glanced sideways at him, a bit confused. "I think it's in my room," he said.

"Just lying there?" Cole's eyes widened. "It's not even hidden?"

Kai sighed. "Look, Cole," he murmured, "I know how you must feel about Lloyd, but I truly think he missed us. I have a good feeling about this."

Cole couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What?" he exclaimed.

Kai kicked him from under the table as the others started to draw their attention to them. "Not so loud," he hissed.

But Cole didn't listen. "You're not even the least concerned about what a risk we just took?" he shouted.

"Cole," Kai chuckled nervously. "Maybe we should talk about this somewhere else!"

By that point, no one was paying attention to their food anymore as they noticed something was going on.

Cole's eyes blazed. "We just let our biggest enemy into our home, and you don't feel anything?"

Garmadon stared at the black ninja. "Cole!" he snapped. "That's enough."

Cole jumped to his feet and glared at Kai. "Maybe you should check your feelings again," he growled. "Because you obviously missed a lot!" Then he spun around and pounded out of the room.