The Liar (ON HOLD)

Chapter 28

Cole

Cole looked around in search of any unusual activity. Other than all the riots they passed there was no one outside. Apparently, Jay had done something Jay would do and stopped the riots for a bit, which made it a lot easier to do their job.

Cole glanced over at Fire who was looking East for some reason.

"Hey you good?" Cole asked suddenly. 

Cole wouldn't admit it, but he had a strange feeling that Fire was Kai Smith. The knife he had pulled out earlier was the one Kai had cut himself with. Speaking of which, he needed to make sure Kai was changing the bandages on his arm. The cut he had given himself would be infected quickly if Kai wasn't being careful.

"Oh, yeah I'm fine." Fire answered with a small glance in Cole's direction.

"Hey we're friends, right? It's not like I'm going to go and tell everyone." Cole stated.

Fire hesitated but looked at Cole. "Um...have you ever had a crush?" He asked nervously.

Cole stared at him wide-eyed. "Fire has a crush?" Cole thought. He had to admit that his stomach kind of did a little kick. He didn't really know why he was jealous he just was.

"Um...yeah actually." Cole responded once he regained his composure. Then he walked over to him. "Who's the lucky girl?" Cole asked with a smirk. Even if Fire couldn't see his face, Cole had made it obvious that he was smirking.

Fire chuckled and pushed Cole away. "That's the problem...it's not a girl." Fire answered. Fire walked to the edge of the roof and sat down. He frowned and continued looked to the East.

Cole watched the boy. For some reason Cole felt that Fire wasn't happy with his feelings.

"Hey." Cole said as he walked over to sit next to Fire. "It's ok to like guys. Some people don't like it, but that doesn't make it wrong to feel the way you do. If you like the guy, then you like the guy. There's nothing wrong with that." Cole added.

Fire looked at him gratefully. "Thanks Earth. I appreciate it." He muttered.

"No sweat. Soooo, what's this guy like?" Cole asked curiously. Cole saw Fire blush underneath his mask.

"Well... he's tall, strong, really hot." Fire began then he realized what he'd said and hid his red face. 

Cole laughed, "Common, please continue. My curiosity is peaked right now." Cole pleaded.

"Well, he's really nice and thoughtful. He's also funny. I just wanna laugh whenever I'm around him. He was there for me when no one else was. He's just...amazing." Fire stated.

Cole watched as Fire stared at the stars. Fire's eyes sparkled in the starlight. Cole was happy for him, but he couldn't help but feel jealous. 

"He's probably one lucky guy to attract your attention hothead." Cole muttered.

Fire looked at him in confusion and stared at Cole. Then he remembered that he had forgotten something at his house. 

"Oh shit." Cole stated as he stood up. "Um, sorry Fire. I gotta go. I'll be right back." Cole added as he turned around and ran toward his house. 

He felt Fire's eyes on him as Cole ran. He quickly reached his house and grabbed his phone. Cole's dad had told him earlier that he would get a call sometime that night from someone who wanted to hire him. 

Cole pulled open his missed calls and sighed when he saw that he was too late. "Damn it. I'll call him back tomorrow." Cole muttered.

He stared at the door of his room lost in thought. Then he heard a scream split the air and he ran out onto his porch. Jumping off he raced back to where he had left Fire. He looked around but Fire was gone. "Oh no." Cole muttered. Cole began running to where he had heard the last scream, but he couldn't locate the position. Then a second scream cried out, but this time it was different. Cole heard another scream echo in the distance and then another one. Cole froze. "There were four screams...not three." He thought. Cole rushed over to where he had heard the second scream. 

He arrived at a dark building that was full of shadows and not a light was present. Cole sensed something wasn't right and he slowly walked inside. He stared as a man in a black cloak stood over someone with a sword. 

There was a broken form on the ground and Cole stood in fear when he realized it was Fire. He had been stabbed. Cole growled and jumped onto the man, but he vanished into a cloud of smoke. "What the-" Cole muttered. Then he froze when he saw shadows latching onto Fire, but that was impossible. Cole ran over and picked up Fire before the shadows could get a full grip on him. He carried him out of the building and into the lamplight where the shadows couldn't reach them. 

His body was limp, and his face was pale. There was a slice in his gi around his stomach and Cole stared, there was no blood coming out. Then a man walked into the light, it was the same man that had stabbed Fire.

"What did you do to him?" Cole asked as he held Fire.

The man smirked. "You'll see in time. If you don't find a way to close that wound, it'll start bleeding in about...thirty-seven seconds. After that, he's long gone." The man stated blankly.

Cole growled and stood up, turning to the man. The man was gone. Cole scowled and picked Fire up, quickly adjusting his hold on the boy so he could run faster. He had to make it to Misako. She was the only one who could help. He began running, internally counting down the seconds until the wound would start spilling blood.

Cole rushed inside the little shop just as the wound started bleeding. "Misako! I need help!" Cole shouted.

The little woman marched out from her behind her curtains and froze when she saw Fire. "Bring him in. Now." Misako ordered.

*                    *                     *                      *                     *

Cole had been pacing the front room as Mystake worked on Fire. It didn't make any sense. How were shadows able to touch Fire? Wu made it clear that the shadows couldn't touch them and that they'd have to turn themselves in. In addition, why Fire specifically? Why was he targeted and not the others? The enemy knew something that the ninja didn't. 

After a few more minutes Mystake emerged. She looked exhausted. Her hair was messy, and dark rings rested under her eyes.

Cole froze, preparing for the worst. "Is he-?" Cole didn't finish his sentence.

"He'll recover. You made it just in time. If you had been later, he wouldn't have made it. However, he's in no condition to move around...or fight. He needs a few weeks to recover." Mystake explained.

Cole sighed in relief and plopped onto a chair. 

Mystake was going to say something, but hesitated. 

"What?" Cole asked.

"In order to save him I needed to give him a tea..." She began.

Cole's eyes widened. He understood what she was saying. "You know who he is?" Cole asked.

Mystake nodded, "I will keep it to myself, but I think you should know who he is as well. One of you needs to be able to keep an eye on him as he recovers." Misako answered.

Cole smiled, "I already know..." Cole stated.

Mystake said nothing but gestured for Cole to enter. 

Cole walked through the curtains and stopped when he saw a boy on a couch. His face had regained some of its color, but he was still a bit pale. His stomach was wrapped with bandages, but where there were none his skinny, but muscular form was revealed. 

Cole walked over to the couch and brushed some of the boy's hair from his face. "You better recover hothead." Cole muttered.

...I actually can't believe I got this chapter out today. I was expecting to get it out tomorrow or something. Well um...TBC?