Masked

Chapter Fifteen

        The three of us walked back to the academy, and somehow I managed not to fall. I was feeling a lot better than I had been, and was thankful that my family cared. To them, it didn't seem to matter that they never heard of me until now. I guess they were used to the unexpected occurring. The foggy haze in my mind was beginning to lift, and as we entered the building, I took a deep breath in relief.

        Luther headed off to who knows where while Five followed me upstairs. I was hoping that I could find Klaus in his room. After all, I had made sure he escaped last night. The stairs creaked ever so slightly under my weight; even the old house was beginning to fall apart. I was in almost a peaceful state of bliss. That didn't last long though as my eyes caught sight of bloody footprints leading from the bathroom. I ran over to Klaus' room.

        I found him getting dressed, scratching his back. A new tattoo was on his left shoulder, and dog tags were draped around his neck. Everything about him seemed different and on edge. He turned as I entered the room.

        "Hey," I started. "Klaus are you good?"

        He stared at me, increasingly distant. "Yeah, yeah."

        "If you need to talk to me, I'm always here."

        Klaus nodded before picking up a t-shirt to put on. Five knocked on the door before entering. I wasn't the only one concerned with Klaus' behavior.

        "You okay?"

        "Hey. Yeah, I just. . . Long night."

        Hands in his pockets, Five chuckled. "More than one, from the looks of it."

        "Yeah."

        I looked to Klaus, worried. What had happened after he left? I sat down on his bed. Something was wrong, I could tell, but it didn't seem like he'd be opening up anytime soon. He was always so carefree and joking. For him to be this out of place, I can only imagine what he'd gone through, but Five made it sound like it was a lot more than a night on the town.

        "Don't remember the dog tags."

        "Yeah, they belonged to a friend." Klaus pulled down his shirt.

        "How 'bout that new tattoo?"

        He glanced down. "You know, I don't totally remember even getting it. Like I said, it was as a long night."

        "You did it, didn't you?" Five had a smirk on his face.

        "What are you talkin' about?"

        "You know, I can recognize the symptoms, Klaus."

        "Symptoms of what?" We both questioned at the same time.

        "The jet lag. Full body itch. The headache that feels like someone shoved a box of cotton up into your nose and through your brain. You gonna tell me about it?"

        Klaus had sat down beside me on his bed, and I wrapped an arm around him. He didn't even notice. His hands slowly fell down his face.

        "Your pals, when they broke into the house and they couldn't find you, they took me hostage instead."

        "And in return, you stole their briefcase."

        "Yeah. I thought there was money in it, or I could pawn it, you know, whatever. And then I opened it."

        Five walked back and forth across the room. "And the next thing you knew, you were. . . where? Or should I say when?"

        I blurted. "You time traveled?"