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

Chapter 13

Nya shut off the garage lights and went back inside. She had been working on the Bounty all day, and, thanks to Lloyd, she could now get a good night's sleep. She walked into the kitchen and found the others cleaning up dinner. Glancing around, she saw someone was missing.

"Where's Cole?" she asked.

Jay shrugged. "Lloyd said he wasn't hungry," he explained.

Nya frowned and glimpsed around the room again. "Where's Lloyd?"

"Said he was tired," Kai answered. "Went to bed early."

"Good enough for me." Nya weaved through the people and stopped near the refrigerator.

Wu walked over to her as she grabbed a glass of water. "How's the Bounty coming?" he wondered.

"Almost done!" Nya exclaimed. She took a sip of water before continuing. "Hey, did you know Lloyd's good with tools?"

Wu blinked. "Really?" he murmured.

"Yeah!" Nya said. "He fixed the engine."

"Impressive," Wu breathed.

Nya chuckled. "That's what I said!" Then she gave a wistful sigh. "It really is good to have Lloyd home again," she breathed. "It's just like old times."

Wu smiled and nodded in agreement. "I'm glad you feel that way."

Nya finished her drink and placed the cup near the sink, yawning. "Well, I'm gonna crash," she sighed before leaving the kitchen.

She headed up the stairs and down the hall toward her bedroom. As she rounded a corner, she felt her foot suddenly step in something sticky. Halting in surprise, she looked down and her eyes widened in shock. Blood!

Breathing shakily, Nya lifted her foot out of the red puddle and inspected it. The blood gathered together in the corner before trailing off, down the hall. Heart pounding as fear rose inside of her, Nya followed the trail until it cut off. She looked up and realized it ended right in front of Cole's bedroom door. She gasped in realization. Cole!

Without wasting another second, she burst into the black ninja's room. She looked around and found Cole lying on his stomach in the middle of the floor, trembling in pain.

"Cole!" Nya exclaimed and crouched beside him. Breath quickening, she saw the ninja's leg had a deep cut with dried blood encrusted around it. "Cole, are you okay? What happened?"

Cole turned his head toward her, eyes glazed. He drew in a shaky breath. "Y-you need to go," he choked out.

"Go?" Nya echoed. "I'm not leaving you like this, Cole!"

"I-if he sees us together—" Cole's voice cut off with a groan and his head fell back wearily.

Nya carefully inspected his wound. "It's going to get infected if we don't treat it," she told him. "You can tell me what happened later."

Nya grabbed Cole's hand to try and help him to his feet, but Cole tugged his hand away. "N-no," he hissed through gritted teeth. "N-no one can see me like this."

"Now isn't the time to act tough, Cole," Nya scolded. "You need medical attention!"

"No, you... you don't understand," Cole panted. "I-I really am f-fine..."

Nya felt a rush of panic as she saw the black ninja begin to lose consciousness. "No, wait!" she gasped. "I can't help you alone!"

Cole winced and gave a hiss.

Nya jumped to her feet. "Hold on, I'll get help!" she told him. "Lloyd's just around the corner—I'll be right back!"

She spun around and raced out of the room, heading for Lloyd's bedroom. Everyone else was still downstairs, and she needed the fastest help possible. She burst into Lloyd's room, calling, "Lloyd!"