Black Tattoo

Unexpected Savior

I sit up, startled. My hand shoots through the air to my heart. I feel and hear it pump in my chest and I'm surprised to be alive. My wounds have healed, all of them. How? I look around and realize I'm on the couch. I jump off with ease and notice that all my strength has return, well, except the intense stomachache I'm starting to get. 

"Adara?" I ask in my mind. Maybe, it was him that healed me.

"It was not me, little one." Adara's deep voice vibrated through my head. He knew what I was going to ask even before I asked. Our bond never stops amazing me.

I walk over to the door and open it. I stop when a knife hits the door frame next to me.

"You should still be resting." I turn to see Sensei sitting on my wooden porch. What? How?

"What are you doing here? And how long was I out?" I ask him as I slowly walk towards him. I sit down next to him.

"You should treat the person that saved your life with more respect." He says without looking at me. He looks at the trees.

"I'm sorry, Sensei. Thank you for saving me." I say with guilt. If I don't show respect Sensei will get angry and that is the last thing I want. My body shivers with the thought of him getting angry, it is still sore from the last time.

"Good. I'm surprised you are even up. You were almost dead when we found you and it has only been a few hours." Sensei says. "Now tell me what happened here."  

"I...We were attacked and I was defeated." I tell Sensei with shame. As always, his face is emotionless and blank, hiding all his thoughts.

"Where is Sokaku?" I instantly remember Celsius picking Sokaku and Paul up and later grabbing Mich. He took them! I stand up.

"They were taken... and we have to save them before they are killed!" I jump off the porch and turn to look at Sensei. Now that he is here he could take Celsius down. "The only problem is finding them, but maybe we could track them by scent or...I don't know. I don't know where Celsius took them! But there has to be a way to find them...Alex! I'm sure Alex knows where they are! Wait, didn't I kill Alex? No, he has to be ali-"

"Quiet!" Sensei yells. I stop talking and turn to look at him. I realize I was pacing and ranting. Once again I feel ashamed.

"You have gotten desperate. Who is this person that has gotten so deep under your skin?" Sensei asks me. A hint of sadness shines in his eyes and disappears as fast as it appeared. But I noticed it.

"Pay up, old man. I won the bet." Another voice comes from behind me. She walks in a lazy manner. With her short messy hair in a mess. Her green eyes look me all over as she walks up to me and places her arm over my shoulders. Her leader jacket feels cold against my skin. I see that she is wearing a red crop top and black jeans. Black combat boots to go with her outfit. I'm surprised to see Chloe here, too.

I can't help but look down at myself and feel ashamed as I see that I am barefoot, my blue jeans have cuts and are ripped all over just like my t-shirt. If you look closely you will see blood all over my clothes and in one part my sport-bra is clear to see. I can't even imagine the mess my hair should be right now.

"Bet? What bet?" I ask as my eyes go from one to the other. Sokaku, Mich and Paul have been taken and they are concerned about a bet. I can't believe them.

"Your Sensei here was worried that you and Sokaku had run away together because you fell in love or some shit like that. I told him he was being stupid and that someone had attacked you or that you were in trouble and because of that you guys hadn't been able to return to Japan." Chloe explained with an entertained smirk.

Sensei looks down avoiding my eyes and I can't help but laugh. They both won the bet. But I wasn't going to give Sensei that satisfaction.

"Now that you have calmed down, let's move on to a more serious matter." Sensei pulls out a hundred dollar bill and when Chloe sees it she walks over to it and stretches out her hand to grab it. Sensei gives it to her and I know it irritates him when Chloe smiles with pride. "Now tell me what happened." Sensei says.

I do, I tell them everything. From the moment we leave the mansion he rented for us to my fight with Celsius. Of course, I try to avoid the whole Adara business and the screaming voices but Chloe notices something is wrong and she looks at me intensely, trying to look into my soul . With that look of hers she makes me tell them. As you will slowly learn, no one goes against her and all who have tried have never lived to tell about it.

"I'm impressed Kara, that you are now able to talk with your animal spirit. I feared you would never achieve that because of the hate you had towards it." Chloe tells me and I just cross my arms over my chest.

"You could have told me that such a thing was possible!" I tell her with irritation. That's Chloe for you, keeping everything for herself. Well, I guess I have a couple of secrets too.

"If I had told you, you would have never figured it out. It's not something that can be taught." She shrugs it off.

"Enough, Kara I believe you are forgetting something quite important." Sensei explains. "What about the three people that were knocked out? The ones you took from this Celsius and what of the small girl? You didn't mention that she was taking as well." Sensei asks with curiosity and concern.

I forgot about them...I can't believe that I forgot about them! Nadel, Sydney and David disappeared but what happened to Kate? I don't know. But I'll be damned if I don't figure it out.

"You're right. I took Sydney, David and Nadel from Celsius but at the time I wasn't myself. So, my memory is missing some parts. I remember taking them but after that noth-" I start but Adara interrupts me.

"You took them somewhere else, little one. To protect them." His voice rings in my head.

"He says I took them somewhere else, somewhere far from the fight." I tell them both.

"Oh, was that your fera? Nice, you guys are getting along real well." Chloe says with excitement.

"Can he tell you where?" Sensei ask intrigued.

"You hid them underneath the roots of big tree. I don't know where exactly." Adara tells me.

"I know where." I tell them all. I don't wait for their answer and walk quickly into the forest. I don't stop walking until I reach the huge tree where Mich took his air test. I know Sensei and Chloe are close behind me. I move around the roots looking for them. I was looking so closely at the roots I almost tipped over a sneaker. David's sneaker. I finally find them. The three of them are still out cold and laying there. I hear Nadel grunt as I pull him out. Sensei and Chloe pull Sydney and David out. I'm glad they are still alive.

We don't talk as each of us carries one of them back to the cabin. We reach it and I place Nadel on the couch. Sensei puts blanket on the floor and shortly after they place David and Sydney on them. I inspect them and I'm happy to see that they are all pretty banged up but nobody's life is at risk. That's what Celsius wanted, them to be out of the fight but still alive.

"One mystery is solved but what of the young girl?" Sensei asks me.