Finding Darkness

Chapter 24

Despite the scare of seeing my dead parents and the sorrow of the funeral, the side and chest wounds, and the attack by Black Mist, Astral manages to get outside. He leads the way to an unfamiliar street.

"Where are we, Astral?" I ask, turning my head from side to side to take in my surroundings. At least this place still looks decent. Almost none of the buildings have been destroyed.

Astral quickens his pace, looking more serious than ever. "You do not know this street, Yuma, because we have never been here. This is where Cathy lives."

"But you said we have never been here. How do you know where Cat lives?"

"I know because during my mental sweep, I have discovered her location. I am currently following her life energy."

Well, that explains why he never got lost the first few days he was here. Who knew?

When we reach Cat's house a few hours later, Astral knocks urgently at the door. Cat opens it.

"Astral? Yuma? How'd you find out where I live?"

"I followed your life energy here," Astral explains briefly, sweeping past Cat with the feline grace he's always got. "Yuma, come!"

I follow Astral like Watson would Sherlock. "I'm going Astral, just slow down!"

Cat closes the door. "What happened? Why'd you come here?"

I look around the house while Astral explains the whole situation. It's pretty big, a two-story house. The walls are painted sky blue and pink, typical for a girl. There are soft chairs surrounding the perimeter of the room, though there are only a few. All this would seem normal of it wasn't for all the cats littering the entire house! 

Cat sits on one of the chairs. A cat hops on her lap, and she pets it. "All this happened today? That's insane!"

"You're telling me," I mutter as I walk over to Cathy and stand next to her.

Cat stands up. "You're starting to search today, aren't you?"

"Yes," Astral confirms. "Our search for Black Mist begins. He has continued killing despite the extra, and rather unnecessary, surveillance during the night."

Cat nods, a determined spark settling in her green eyes. "Then count me in."

Astral smiles. "I knew I could count on you, Cathy." 

We all exit, the cats following. All ten thousand of them...or so it seems to me. For all I know, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Astral stops. "We will need more humans to help." He think for a while. "We cannot tell them exactly what we're looking for though. This could be a problem."

"Can't we just tell them 'Look for a guy in complete black'?" I ask.

"We could," Astral responds, "but there are many humans who dress in complete black."

Well, looks like Astral thinks way beyond me.

Astral's head whips around a nanosecond before a scream is heard. We all turn toward the sound, and a black shadow whips past us. I see it grin at us, and I know exactly who it is.

"Black Mist," Astral hisses, venom dripping from his voice.