Legacy Rangers (Book Two of the Chosen Universe)

Chapter Nine

ZEKE

He'd arrived home to find his father covered in blood. Thankfully, he seemed to be alright. Casey had arrived right behind him. As Zeke stared at his father in confusion, Casey wrapped him in a hug.

"Thank God," she mumbled.

"What happened?" Zeke asked.

"Kat," his father replied.

"What about her?" Zeke asked.

"It was Kat... She slashed my throat..." His father seemed to be in shock. Zeke couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"What? Why would she do that?"

"She's turned..." Casey said in an eerie whisper. "Katherine has given in to her dark side."

"But... She's a Power Ranger!" Zeke protested.

"When Kat first came around, she was Rita's puppet," his father said. "She nearly destroyed Kimberly. After she helped cause an accident that could have seriously injured Kim, she changed... She admitted the truth and broke Rita's control... Just like Tommy, Kat chose to be good, and when Kim left us, she picked Kat to take her place... But apparently, she's lost her mind."

"What do we do?" Zeke asked. "If Kat's really evil... We have to warn Katie and Tommy!"

"I'll tell my brother what happened," Casey said. "Rocky... How did you survive?"

"Sage... It was all Sage. She sensed I was in danger and she saved me... Like you would have," his father said.

"But Sage isn't here... And she's not a Shaman yet. How did she do this? Even I had difficulty reaching you from a distance."

"I don't know... She's strong, Casey. And I owe her my life... I died. She brought me back."

Zeke froze. "You... What?" He demanded.

"I bled out, Zeke. I felt myself stop breathing and I know my heart stopped. Sage brought me back."

Zeke had never been so terrified in his life. His dad had died... Actually died. He was here now only because his friend had freaky hippie powers like her mom that had somehow activated to save him. Zeke didn't have anyone else. His dad's parents had died a few years back and his mom hadn't been able to run away from him and his dad fast enough. She had big dreams and they were holding her back. Zeke barely ever heard from her and he couldn't imagine what would have happened if she had to be tracked down to take him in. Adam and Casey were his Godparents, so maybe he'd have been left in their care, but he could just as easily have ended up in the system like Josh. Zeke shuddered as he realized how close he'd come to losing his dad and possibly everything else. He flung his arms around his father, not caring about the blood, and started to cry, not caring about that either.

"I'm okay, Zeke," his father promised him as he held him. "Everything's going to be okay."

"You can't leave me," Zeke said through his tears. "Promise me! Promise you'll never leave."

"I'm not going anywhere, Zeke. I promise. I'm okay. Everything's okay."

"I have to find Thorn," Casey said gently as she stroked Zeke's hair affectionately. It was remarkably soothing. "Take care of each other." She left them alone.

Zeke continued to cry, unable to stop now that he'd let himself start. He always held the pain of his mother abandoning him in and buried it deep, but on the rare occasion he let it out, it threatened to destroy him. That combined with the reality that his father had technically died that day was too much to handle. He had to let it out or he'd go insane. His father patiently continued to hold him and neither of them said a word until Zeke had calmed down.