Where Light Meets Dark

Chapter 11 - Unhappy Oblivion

Hours passed. Days passed. To Jakira, time seemed to fly faster the older she got, whether what she was doing was fun or not. That part, she wasn't sure she liked.

Either way, another Friday afternoon found her in the evacuated streets of her city, waiting for the arrival of her best friend and her worst enemy.

Maybe it was just her, since she'd transformed earlier than usual, but Night seemed a little late in his literal appearance. Otherwise, he was his normal self; much more focused and clear-minded than he'd been last time. That, and her subsided worry about her own punctuality, left her completely unprepared for the overwhelming confusion that would soon overtake her.

She and her shadowy partner were making their way through the midst of the streets, waiting and ready for the regular explosions or sounds of chaos. Both remained silent, not wanting to distract themselves or each other.

But all that silence was shattered when Preciser materialized right across the street from them and, before either of them could blink, picked up a massive truck and hurled it at them.

With her greater speed in all areas, Sunray was able to register the sudden danger in time. Within a millisecond she'd dived inside, grabbed the terrified owner, and pulled him out to safety, all before the vehicle touched anything. But when she looked back, all she saw was the look of stunned fear crossing her partner's face right before the heavy metal slammed into him and crash-landed upside down in the back of an alley.

After the creaking of metal ceased, silence reigned once again.

No one was moving. Sunray was left staring into the darkness, frozen, shocked by what she'd just witnessed. There . . . was no way that could've hurt him . . . right? Night wasn't exactly the rough-tough type of guy, but he was definitely strong enough to have survived much worse than this.

Then . . . why was everything so quiet?

She gazed anxiously at the underside of the truck. Come on, Night . . .

The silence continued.

Alarmed now, she started blindly rushing into the dark alley, but had to leap back again as suddenly the truck came flying right back out, flipping through the air and almost knocking Preciser flat if he hadn't moved quickly to the side. Standing half-crouched in the empty space, arms extended, eyes narrowed to slits with fury, was Night.

But the almost insane rage in his eyes, which she'd never seen in him before, wasn't the only thing about him that startled her away from relief and to a new emotion eerily similar to fear.

His eyes had physically changed. His irises had turned pure black, and his sclerae dark gray. There was a somewhat chilling aura of darkness enveloping him as he sprinted up to Preciser and attacked him with more force and fury than she'd ever seen.

Stunned and confused beyond belief for the second time in less than five minutes, she just watched, paralyzed, as the two fought. Her partner's offensive style had altered as well; every attack seemed driven by his sudden unnatural anger, and his defense had disappeared. Not that he needed it in the first place. He wasn't letting Preciser get in a single blow for almost a full ten minutes . . . until he finally slipped up somewhere and nearly got sliced in half. Suddenly, the villain was pressing down hard on top of the superhero's lifted blade, raised for the first time that day as protection. The force Preciser was using should've crushed him, but somehow, Night was successfully resisting it with a continual parry much stronger than should've been possible.

Now jump in and help! Shaking herself back to reality, Sunray grabbed her bow, circled around the struggling pair, and leapt up onto Preciser's shoulders. She was just about to hook her weapon around his neck when he looked down at Night, his eyes glinting strangely, and whispered the last thing she ever thought she'd hear him say.