Madness [ Claire Sequel ]

Chapter 10

Kira's POV

I walked into the Death Room feeling miserable. I may not be happy with them, but I still loved the boys. Not seeing, hearing, or feeling them was killing me.

Tyler was the first to turn from the mirror, and he beckoned me over. "Come take a look at this, Kira. Arika, too." He said. I nodded, and Arika landed on the ground next to me.

We approached the mirror and gasped in horror at what we saw.

An entire town alight with fire, smoke clouding the sky. Villagers screamed; babies cried; mothers screamed in terror; men ran to and fro to retrieve water to put out the flames.

Tyler looked up when Lord Death said something, but I was too busy watching a young girl collapse in the thick haze of smoke. She was dying.

"We're leaving." I said, "Now." Arika didn't argue, and we started out of the Death Room. "Kira, Arika, wait." Tyler said, exasperated. "You can't go! It's just a fire, a part of nature!" Arika turned on Tyler like a King Cobra. "Okay, Tyler. I'm getting real sick and tired of you! I -- and I'm sure Kira does, too -- have a weird feeling about that fire in the village. It's not just a part of nature! So shut the hell up and let us go or I'll stake you to the wall!"

Tyler stopped cold when he heard Arika's threat, knowing she was being honest, and knowing that she'd do it.

I jogged out of the Death Room, then sprinted down the corridors until we got outside. "Arika! Think you can morph alright?" I screamed as we ran tirelessly. She grunted, sprinting easily next to me, "I'll try! Anything to save that village!" She replied.

"Alright! Motorcycle; now, Arika!" I shouted. Arika jumped forward, and I jumped slightly to the side while Arika morphed. She turned into a sleek, black and white Kawasaki Ninja. I revved the handlebar, pushing her to top speed, which was 176 mph.

Arika sped through the streets easily, turning corners as if the road were still straight. "Arika! We just got out of Death City! Are you alright?" I asked in concern. Arika replied, through our mental link, "I'm fine for now. I'm just on a time countdown; the faster we go; the further we get in lesser time." I nodded, keeping up her pace.

We arrived at the village just as Arika's time in morph was waning. I stood on the seat and jumped off of it, flipping in the air and landing on my feet on the ground. Arika returned to her human form right behind me.

Unfortunately, we were too late. The entire village had been burned to a crisp, the buildings and grounds charred and black. "No," I whispered, my voice taken away by the crisp wind. Arika squeezed my wrist, trying to comfort me.

I slowly, numbly started through the darkly burned streets. The village was silent, the harsh wind whipping against the hollow shell of my body.

The buildings began crumbling and falling apart, upsetting the ashes that had fallen peacefully to the ground. But I wasn't worried about that. Instead, I was listening to the sounds of the quiet weeping of a woman nearby, her whispered cries of hell.

I quickly glanced into every corner, every alley to find the poor woman. Finally, past one of the corners I questioned myself whether or not to check, I found her. A woman, her arms, legs, and torso charred and horribly burnt, cried out to me when she saw me. "He...lp...!" She cried.

"Arika!" I shouted, sprinting to her and slipping to my knees before her. "Kira, there's nothing we can do for her. These burns... They are horribly fatal. Even I can do nothing." Arika whispered, tears in her eyes.

The woman reached out to me and grabbed my hand with her own, burned one. "M...y... B..." She tried. I nodded, listening while tears whispered down my pale skin. "Ba...b...y..." She finished weakly, paling quickly. She pointed at the building across from her. "Th...e...re..." She said, before her head slumped to the ground.

I looked up at the building to our left. The supports for the house were groaning, creaking, shaking. I stood and slowly made my way through the house, stepping over the supports without touching them to support my shaky knees.

"Arika. Stay outside. In case this house collapses on me. Someone has to take the baby back." I whispered to her, afraid that, if I spoke too loudly, the house would collapse immediately.

The closer I got to the back of the house, the louder the sound of a baby's crying. I stepped over another foundation and stopped cold when the supports around me creaked and groaned loudly.

I passed another two foundations before finding the baby, bundled in blankets in a stone container near a charred wooden table. I grabbed the baby and held the infant close to my chest. The child quieted after a moment, after I straightened and patted it's back with my palm.

The supports groaned and creaked much louder than earlier, and I knew it was time to go.

A support crashed behind me, and I jumped over a foundation, running through the house. I tried desperately to ignore the sound of the supports crashing to the ground right behind me.

Arika stood in front of the crumbling structure, worry sketched on her face. "Arika!" I screamed, as one of the supports came down and scratched along my calf. I jumped across the last foundation, which used to be the right wall, and fell into Arika's arms, panting.

I turned around, looking at the building whilst it completed collapsing. "You're injured," Arika inquired after a short inspection for any injuries. "I'm alright, Arika. The woman--"

"Is dead." Arika said abruptly, finishing my sentence. "She said her baby was a boy, and his name is Icarus. After the man who crafted wax wings and flew too close to the sun; Greek mythology, you know." I nodded in amazement, looking at the baby boy in awe.

"Icarus..." I whispered, trying his name on my tongue. I looked down at him, bouncing him up and down gently. He laughed gleefully, throwing his tiny fists into the air and swinging them wildly.

The infant boy had a hint of brown hair, and his eyes were a breath-taking purple. He looked at me as if I were his own mother; with trust and love. It brought tears to my eyes.

"Arika," I said, looking up at her hopefully, "Do you think you have enough strength to morph into some form of transportation?" I asked. Arika sighed in thought. "The closer I am to nature, the less time I have right now. So, if I were to morph into, say, a ,horse, I'd have less time. Morphing into a car would give me more time. I think I can manage a Viper." She said.

Arika took a few steps away and nodded at me. "Car, Arika!" I demanded, and Arika morphed. She turned into a black Viper, the interior completely white. I sat down in the driver's seat, holding the baby in one arm. "This is gonna be interesting." I murmured. Could I drive with a baby in one arm?

It was worth a shot.

We were half way to Death City when Arika burst into my thoughts. "You know that woman wants us to care for Icarus, right?" I sighed. "Yes, I know that. I also know that Tyler's going to be pissed when he finds out. But this wasn't his choice." My grip tightened on the steering wheel, then loosened at Arika's request. "This was my -- our choice. I will not abandon Icarus. Especially not when he needs us most."

"What about the investigation? What will you do about him then?" Arika questioned. I bit the inside of my cheek. I wanted to spare a glance at Icarus, but doing so could result in getting into a car accident or flipping Arika. That's not what I needed, especially not with an infant in the car. "Well, Tyler will be with me; he's taken care of. I'll be investigating; I'll be gone. You probably won't be left behind; you're out of the question. I suppose I'll have to ask Maka or Tsubaki to babysit for me for a day or two."

Arika chuckled. "What? Don't trust the boys?" She inquired. I snorted. "I can't even see them right now! How can I trust them to care for a baby?" Arika quieted. "You know he's ours now, right?"

I sighed again. "I'm still getting used to that."