The Visitor

Chapter 7

Yuma came back from school and found Astral still asleep with the rag a little warmed up. He replaced it with a cooler one, went to his room in the attic, and did his homework as best as he could, though it was hard to concentrate when he knew Astral was still suffering. He could never concentrate on anything when there was something wrong with his brother. His parents, Haru, and Akari were the same.

Yuma slid down the rope that led to his brother's room and found him gone. Panic swelled in his chest, and he wondered in a flurry if he was taken and killed by whatever was taking and killing his friends. A closer look at the room told him a different story, though. It just looked like he had gotten up to do something.

Trying to calm down, he made his way downstairs and was relieved to find Astral sitting at the table, nibbling on some rice balls that were left in the fridge. His brother looked over and smiled.

"Did I scare you?" Astral asked as Yuma sat down.

Yuma chuckled nervously and played with his hands. "Kinda, but not too much. I thought you were kidnapped and killed." At that, his voice choked.

Astral leaned against Yuma, feeling bad now that he made his brother think the worst. "I'm sorry. But when my headache died down I felt famished. I didn't think I'd scare you."

The human boy smiled and ruffled his alien brother's hair. "It's no problem, Astral. I'm glad you feel better."

"How was school? Were you able to concentrate?"

"A little, but to be honest, it was tough."

Astral grinned. "Isn't that always the case, though?"

Yuma gasped, mockingly offended. "What are you implying?"

"I'm implying that instead of talking right now, you should do your schoolwork," Astral laughed. "I'll be fine, now go."

Pouting somewhat, Yuma got up and went back to his room to do his homework. The alien watched him with a smile. He was very grateful to Yuma for worrying over him, but sometimes he worried that he paid too much attention to Astral's health than to his studies. Would he be able to pass his class like this? Well, he's done it before, so-

Don't worry about him. Just use him.

Astral felt a sharp pain when the voice suddenly spoke, as if something stabbed at his brain. He rubbed his temples to ease the sharp pain that was calming to a dull throb. Was that the same voice that spoke to me when I absorbed the first two cards? What does it mean by "use him"?

But there was no one to answer him. Astral finished his snack and headed back to his room to rest a bit more.

~.~.~

That night, as he laid awake while Yuma snored above him, Astral contemplated the voice he just heard. It was the same as the person who gave him the card, and it was the same as the voice that spoke to him after he absorbed the two cards, telling him to pretend. What were the voices saying? What did they mean?

Should he even question it? Something inside him told him simply to obey, but he knew it wasn't that easy. As he drifted off to sleep, he told himself that he would try to bring out those cards to investigate them.

~.~.~

The being sat atop the railing of a roof, swinging his leg and watching his prey go about their business. His white skin made it nearly impossible to hide in the darkness, so he settled on staying in the light of the business buildings. He leaned his arm on his knee, resting his cheek against it. City life was so busy, especially in this one. Heartland City. The place he lived in for quite some time. 

The white being stood up, saw a friend of the boy. She was a shy-looking girl with silver, cat-like hair. Tonight, she wore a black dress that flared with striped socks and a tail at the back of the dress, as though she were a real cat. The parasite grinned, snapped, and the needle once again emerged from his palm. He jumped down, landing softly behind her, needle hand poised and at the ready.

"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty," he whispered. The girl looked around. The being knew that she felt as though the voice were familiar. 

"Who's there?" she called, but no one answered. Wary now, she continued walking, looking left and right every chance she got.

Suddenly, she stopped. As though she felt something behind her, she whipped around, her eyes widening at the sight of the white being. "A-"

The white parasite struck.

~.The Next Morning.~

"Astral," Yuma hissed, shaking Astral from his sleep.

The alien groaned and opened his eyes. "Yuma, what time is it? It's still dark out."

"Two in the morning. I had a very bad feeling, as if someone were in danger."

"Danger? Who could be in danger at this hour?" But a sinking feeling was in his gut. Although he couldn't fathom who would be in danger, he had a feeling that whoever killed Tetsuo, Haru, and kidnapped his parents was involved in this feeling.

"I dunno, but I want to check it out. I need to. Maybe your knack for picking up trails will help, like it did when we...when we found Tetsuo..."

Astral's expression softened. "Okay. Let's go."

The two boys snuck out of the house with a flashlight in hand, Astral with a blanket covering him to both keep him warm and to block his glow, and Yuma with a sweater thrown over his shoulders and a flashlight in his hand. They tiptoed through their neighborhood before making it into the main city. The lights were still on as usual, allowing for the nightlife to be abuzz.

Astral looked at the tall buildings, wondering what it would be like to sit atop of them.

You've already been up there.

That's ridiculous. When would I have gone up there? I get terribly nauseous even thinking about heights.

You were up there last night.

I was sleeping last night.

"Cat!" Yuma suddenly exclaimed running over to a body that was crumpled to the floor. Astral, his heart jumping with panic, flew right to Yuma's side and stared down at his friend.

Cathy would have looked as though she were sleeping if not for the blood pooling from her chest. It stained her dress to a darker black and made a puddle around her. Surprisingly, Astral could imagine his parents and Tetsuo in the same peaceful state. They may have put up a fight before, but in the end, they would be at peace. Somehow, he watched in calm shock.

Yuma, however, wasn't as calm. He frantically tried to search for signs of life, trying to cover up the hole in her chest, but Astral knelt beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. "She's gone, Yuma," was all he said. 

"No, she can't be gone!" Yuma cried desperately. "We just met her! How could she..." But he fell silent when Astral's grip tightened. He could see that his brother was trying not to cry.

"Let's go home, Yuma. It's the weekend tomorrow. We don't have to go out."

The boy could only nod. On their way back, his only thoughts were on Cathy.

Remember your purpose.

What purpose?

Remember it. You are connected with what happened tonight.

Impossible. I was sleeping.

Before their eyes, Cathy began to disappear.