Cold

Chapter five: Kai seems to be magical

Lillian fell into a world that was dead. The trees were blackened as if a wild fire had taken place, the leaves before her feet crumbled to ash as she walked. She heard people screaming nearby, and she hid behind a tree. Looking out at the group of people, she saw that someone was in a glass box filled with water. The next thing she knew, the earth was shaking.

Three fell to the ground, as Castel got up. A green smoke poured out of Castel's mouth and swirled around him. Three was watching carefully as Castel disappeared in the fog. Lillian was still as she watched the events unfold from behind a tree. She gasped as the fog disappeared, and the man was gone with it.

"Looking for me?" A raspy voice growled in her ear. Lillian jumped, and got slammed into the clearing where the others were.

Castel stepped out of the tree line, his eyes dark and a weird lightning crackling on his skin. Three saw him force a girl into the clearing, her pink hair falling on her face. Three acted quickly, grabbing the girl and pulling her close to him, Josh, and Kip.
"Who are you?" Josh asked the girl.
"Lillian." She responded, blinking slowly. "What's going on?"

"I'd like to know that myself." Kip smirked, watching Castel approach in a sluggish way, his gait twisting.

"I'm Josh, that's Kip, and that's Three." Josh said, quickly catching Lillian up on the past couple of weeks.
"And what's that rapidly closing door?" Lillian asked, pointing to a bright green door that had appeared in the clearway.
"Not sure." Kip shrugged. "Who wants to go through and who wants to defend it?"

"You three go." Three said, turning his head slightly.
"No way. You need help. We don't know what happened to Castel, and we can't leave him." Josh said. Lillian took a deep breath.
"If you can get me a bow and arrow, I can stay with Three." Lillian said. Her voice was soft, but her determination shone in her eyes.

"Look, I don't even know you. How can we trust that you'll keep him alive?" Josh asked, "It would be better if I stayed."

"What if that's the door to freedom from this place?" Kip asked. "We could go get help."
"You guys need to go while you still can." Lillian said. She held out her hand, and for a moment Josh stared at it. Then he sighed and handed her a bow and quiver.
"Don't die on us okay?" Kip asked, winking at Lillian. She gave a shaky smile.
"I'll make sure Three survives this." She replied.
"You guys done chit chatting?" Castel shouted, suddenly taking off towards the group. Three just gritted his teeth together and winked at Lillian.
Kip and Josh made a run for the door just as Three charged Castel. Lillian ran to the closest tree and hoped it would support her. As she touched the trunk of the tree, she almost jumped back in surprise as it began to regrow.
"Hey, Three? Is this normal?" She asked as instead of a tree that she knew, a bright pink tree began to spurt out of the ground. She took his answer as a no when she saw his eyes widen. Even Castel hesitated. Lillian used his distraction to her advantage and she began to climb the tree. When she was high enough, she picked a branch and pulled out an arrow. Nocking the arrow on the bow, she steadied her aim. She breathed in. Watched Three, got a feel for how he fought. When she breathed out, she let go of the arrow.

Three charged at Castel twice. The first time he had retreated because he had seen a pink tree.

I thought I've seen the weirdest shit ever, and this Lillian manages to grow a pink tree. What the fuck?
Castel growled as he threw a dagger at Three's head. He ducked, then ran at him, pulling out a blade.

Three stared in amazement as he detected the arrow before Castel did. He needed to distract him enough so that he wouldn't notice it, but not enough to change where he was. That was when Castel slammed his foot into Three's stomach, sending him flying through the air. Three recovered in the air and twisted, landing in a roll on the ground. He got dirt in his hair and on his face, but he spit it out and turned to where Castel was. He stared at the man with an arrow clean through his throat. He blinked when he fell. He laughed in bafflement as Castel fell to the ground, and did not move. He looked up in the trees, and saw Lillian sitting there, a sad expression on her face. He hoped it wasn't her first kill, because he could have gotten him. But even as he thought that, he was glad she was there to help.