~Aiko Takeshi - The Suite ~ (#Wattys2015)

=CHAPTER 3= Torn

I awoke to a burning sensation around my left wrist, it's as if the suit was trying to wake me for awhile, I looked up and around, i was still in the forest, the guy that previously wore the suit was still there along with the three soldiers from earlier, *sighs* the night was upon me,and im in a suite i know nothing about, Marco .... Marco was missing and to make it worst, im still hungry and tired from yesterday.

I got up and could see some small intricate lights being displayed on the face of my screen, auditory algorithms, a temperature gauge, visuals were crystal clear, if i focused on an object it would zoom to the preferred level .. a vitals meter? what! this was intense i could tell it that this was some serious tech, ive never seen anything like it before. I was way zoned out, i had to bring myself back to the present, and focus on the words that plagued my mind "I need to get home"! "i need help for Marco"

I took off running but, .. this was way too fast i thought, i was moving at double the speed i normally would! i couldn't control myself and ended up running directly in the path of a tree!, i tried to jump at an angle to avoid the tree as much as i possibly could, i dug deep and the jump sent me flying about 60 ft in the air!, i really didn't expect that ... now im in a awkward position and falling hard and there is nothing to stop my fall so i braced for impact, ..... ...... "Buff"! i hit the ground hard, but i could barely feel any pain, i got up quickly to ensure i wasn't dead, i checked my pulse ... it barely seemed riled up, my pulse was creeping and why is breathing so relaxed?, after all that?, .. but How?, i didn't waste time thinking about it , i snapped back to the mission of getting back home,

I'm starting to get the hang of running in this suite i thought as i swiftly gliding between trees, i was very anxious to the thought of everything that has happened while i ran, there was much to think about, i was left with questions i needed answers for, i looked up and saw smoke above the trees, the crash site!, i thought , it must be it, i changed directions and was now on route to see what those fires were,

I stopped short right below the hill from where the smoke was rising from, it was indeed the crash site, so i took cover behind the trees while pushing closer to the top of the hill, not knowing if there were any more soldiers around i had to approach the area with caution.

I crouched down on my hands and knees so i could clear the hill with the best possible cover, ..... ..... ..... there was no one around i could see no movement, only a pile of rubble, you wouldn't know that something crashed here, i looked for any sign of my brothers or my dad, i instantly remembered that whoever or whatever it was behind the red mask had my dads gun, i stood up and went in for a closer look at the area, i tried turning over some of the rubble to see if by any chance id find any bodies burning under there, i found myself pulling debris that i'm sure would weigh well over about 60 pounds quiet easily and with little effort, i even noticed movement from my pulse meter, after all i was really anxious, afraid and flipping heaving weights aside, praying that i don't see what i don't want to see.

There is nothing here",i murmured ... i guess i should hurry home then , yea, maybe they went home and everything is OK, what am i worrying about ?, .. i started laughing,.....but what am i laughing for?, ....i had to stop and clear my head, i was clearly getting freaked out over the whole situation, Calm Aiko, i tried talking to myself for comfort and to ease the reality that i was alone in the forest and that i may be possibly lost, i looked around for a high enough vantage point so i could atleast see above the trees, and maybe even spot my home, so i looked around for awhile and to my luck i spotted a tree that was taller than the rest, but would it be high enough?, i thought i'd give it shot, ..... im making my way over to the tree when i saw .... my crossbow!, that means, .... and at that exact moment i remembered how hungry i was, i took a quick scan of the area where i found my crossbow, but the location was all wrong, this was not where we left our stuff, i ignored the hunger picked my crossbow up, strapped it on and started off in a slow jog towards the tree.

In a minute or less i was now at the base of the tree, night was really close now and another day without food is not possible!, my belly growled in agreement.

I had to jump to catch the first limb and before i knew it i was at the top in what felt like the smoothest tree climb ever, i went as high as i possibly could and focused my eyes over the direction i thought i came, i was amazed at the distance that i could see, i could make out a very foggy image of Berg which was well over 100 miles away, i scanned back and saw the what looked like the edge of town, it was Hillrock!, and judging from the angle and direction i could pin point an large enough area that i would need to scope in order to get back home, i'm feeling excited and accomplished to atleast have an idea, i kinda wish i was as good as Eiji, he was great with tracking, even better than Kaido, i had never been hunting so i wouldn't know squat.

I slid half way down the tree, then set my self up to jump out as soon as i had reach a quarter of the distance to the ground, I let go off the tree and was now in free fall ...... "BOOM"!!!!, "what was that"?!, i was thrown out of focus by a heavy loud sounding explosion that came from the direction of the valley, what the hell i thought, i fell to the ground flat on my back but got up in a split second, i fear they were soldiers so i ran towards hillrock, ...."BOOM"!!!!, there was another one of those loud explosions, i'm being targeted i thought and started to run a little bit faster, as fast as i could control, i constantly glanced behind me while i was running, hoping that i would see if any one was after me, thank God i had this suite or i ..."BOOM"!!!!, ..... a third explosion went off , ...... ..... I , I don't get it, i thought about the situation, the explosions never once sounded too far from the others, i came to the conclusion i wasn't being chased or pursued, and whatever made those explosions was obviously in the same area, i looked back a few more times to make sure i wasn't being followed.

I'm hot on the trail home and don't plan on making any detours for anything , i focused my eyes on a blinking light on my screen face, i was running low on energy and only had about 23% of usable energy left, what the heck does that mean?, well i was indeed hungry and didn't get much sleep, ... it will all be okay i guessed, i wouldn't have made it this far this quickly under normal circumstances, i noticed that ever since ive been in this suite, all my bodily functions have somehow slowed down to a crawl, its scary knowing that even my very thoughts have been integrated in much of my movements, its like i think it and it happens.

I was revived from my thoughts after running pass a large rock i had noticed when i was leaving home with Marco, i must be close, "IM HOME" i thought out loudly, it echoed through my head, im mixed between being what felt like sour sweet happy emotions and being very sad, anxious, nervous and concerned, i had finally made it back, .... ..... but how do i tell them about , ... Marco, i needed to get help for Marco, everything else had to wait, i had to do this.

The house was finally in sight, i started a slow jog towards it, but i thought it odd, for as i came around the sides i didn't see any light in the windows, so i kept my head focused on the house entirely while i started to run even faster to get around to the front, i was tense breaking the corner to face the house when it saw.. ... ....."Noo, Noo, NOO! ....... the whole front section of the house was in ruins, i fell to my knees in disbelief, i looked up at the remainder of the house that wasn't burnt away or destroyed, .. "Mom!", "Kaiko!", i yelled, ......... "Dad?", "Eiji!", "Kaido!", ........ ....... *maybe they were in the basement*, it hit me, it made sense, and now hope filled me as i stood up, my pulse was racing, my temperature started to rise, i was taking larger gulps of air, and when i exhaled, thin streaks of steam shot from the sides off the face of my mask, i was gaining energy somehow, maybe it was the adrenaline i don't know, i made my first step towards where the door used to be, .......... but someone was already on the way out, .... something was on the way out, ... It had a very large Sledge like hammer, it shone like chrome in the above moon light, ... ..... i was stuck in my tracks, it was still in the shadows but i could make out enough to assume this might be another suite, a strong one!, and in a split second, the figure threw the sledge a few meters above my head, .. it jumped up and grabbed it and was coming down hard!