Hiddens [Old Version- New Coming Soon]

Chapter 14- Kai

"Mae, we've been going this way for hours, and I still don't see anything," Kai said with a little bit of skepticism in his voice.

They were far from the city now, and all that stretched in front of them was an endless field of snow and some icy trees in the distance. Mae seemed to know where she was going, even though there was no trail, but that didn't make him any less cynical. He didn't trust someone who he'd met only a day or two ago.

A few feet in front of him, she let out a noise somewhere between a snort and a laugh. "Yes, you do," she said and stopped walking to raise her hand and point towards the icy trees, which were clearly growing in number as they got closer.

"Trees," he repeated in a flat voice."I suppose trees are kind of amazing, but are you sure they're poisonous?"

"No, stupid!" she said a little too loudly. "The trees aren't what we're looking for! There's a cave in the woods. That's where we're heading to," she stopped for a moment and then let out an exasperated sigh. "I guess I should tell you what exactly that is though. Okay, listen up."

"I already was," he grumbled.

She shot him a glare before continuing. "I call this Hidden the Phosphorus Forest. Really, it's not even a forest. It's in the cave off of the forest, and let me tell you, it's pretty cool. But, uh, you have to make sure not to touch anything. The phosphorus can be pretty deadly."

Kai had to take a moment to process what she had just said. "Wait a second," he said as he jogged to catch up with her swift, purposeful strides. "What does phosphorus have to do with a dark childhood? Aren't these Hiddens supposed to be deep, psychological realizations or something? I mean, what does some waxy, white rock have to do with childhood trauma?"

She rolled her eyes at him and slowed down a bit. "You're stupid."

"Said the short girl who doesn't apparently know anything about her 'horrible, treacherous past' because she can't answer one simple question relating to something on the freaking Periodic Table of Elements!" he cried, his voice full of frustration. "I'm glad to be going on an adventure and all, but contrary to the only thing you seem to be able to say, I'm not stupid. That's why you need to tell me what's going on. I really want to know how these Hiddens even came to be. Do they even have to be something relating to your childhood? Really, what does a stupid rock have to do with anything?"

She spun sharply on her heels to face him with a glare that was somehow sad before she took a deep breath. Dropping eye contact, she examined her mottled and calloused hands. "You see this, Kai?" she said while holding them up. He nodded. He had been wondering why her hands looked so ugly. "Well, this is the after effect of frostbite. I made a stupid decision that ended up in me getting discolored hands. That's how I met Lucy. But," -she began to slowly roll up one of the sleeves of her thick sweatshirt- "this was not by choice. I had another maniac episode. That's what they told me, anyways."

Kai gagged and almost instantly looked away. Her upper arm was the most disgustingly hideous thing he'd ever laid his eyes on. It was a horrible bumpy purple with thick red scars surrounding it, and the edges of the splotched mess that had once been skin were a dark black. Large white and yellow creases zigzagged across the scars to make a crude looking border around the red and scaly flesh that surrounded the black and purple bumps.

"Please roll your sleeve back down," Kai practically begged with his eyes closed. He heard her let out a snort as she did as he asked.

"You know what that was? A burn from white phosphorus. I'm the luckiest person on earth that I'm even able to be here standing right now. A lot of people that come into direct contact with white phosphorus die, but some make it through. I guess I'm just part of that 'some' statistic. It doesn't really hurt anymore. Just the area around it throbs a lot."