Magics: Escape (Book 2)

Chapter Sixteen

Laughing. Someone was laughing. But the laugh wasn't right. It didn't sound like Falte's whole-hearted laugh. It didn't sound like Linda's occasional chuckle. It didn't sound like Chase's cheery laugh. It didn't sound like Abby's tiny giggle. It didn't sound like Nanami's tiny laugh. 

No, this laugh surely wasn't right. It was loud, menacing, and more or less like a cackle. The sound was enough to make Kai shiver. The owner of the laugh was someone Kai didn't know, that he was sure of. He'd never heard that laugh before. Kai expected something like that to come out of Thorn's mouth, but he knew that it wasn't Thorn. 

The laugh seemed to hold more authority than Thorn, somehow. 

Why was it getting closer? What was the person laughing at?

Why was everything dark?

Kai, realizing that his eyes were closed, tried to force them open, but nothing happened. Panic began to bloom in his chest. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he didn't like it. He couldn't remember where Linda had found the place to camp, but he knew that they had hurriedly set it up and gone to sleep. Why couldn't he open his eyes? 

Heck, why couldn't he move? 

Was someone holding him down? Why? Had he done something wrong? Why couldn't he simply open his eyes and sit up? What was holding him back? 

And why wasn't that laughing ceasing?!

"Oh, little Kai," a male voice whispered near his ear, and the last word echoed around the darkness for a few seconds. "So brave. So stubborn. So determined. But so naive." The voice disappeared, and Kai tried to squirm around, to lift his hand, to shove the speaker away. Who was talking? Where was he? Who was he? What did he want? What was he talking about? Why did Kai recognize him? 

"You've never seen me," the voice said, this time on his other side. "But I can assure you, I've seen you." The voice faded into the nothingness again, and this time, Kai heard footsteps walking around him in a circle. 

Kai struggled to open his mouth to talk to him, but again, nothing happened. His panic began to increase, and he tried to fight away whatever was holding him down. He couldn't feel any hands or chains, so what was keeping him from moving? 

"Stop trying, boy," the man said, but not in an impatient tone. It sounded more amused. "You're not going to get anywhere. You're only making a strange face." The man chuckled, then his footsteps stopped over Kai's head. 

"I have a question," the man said after a few moments of silence. "I know you cannot answer, but I might as well get it into your brain so you can answer me when we finally meet." 

Kai took a breath through his nose and felt his shoulders tremble. Whatever this man wanted, Kai wanted him to get it over with. He was tired of this conversation, and he was getting extremely nervous. He wanted to wake up, if this even was a dream. 

This is a dream, isn't it? Kai thought. This isn't real. 

The man barked a loud laugh suddenly, and if Kai weren't tethered to the ground, he would have jumped in fright. 

"No, little Kai," the man laughed. "I really hate to break it to you... No, I shouldn't say that, because I'm happy to break it to you. This is no dream, boy. I would say that I was sorry... But I'm not." He laughed again. 

"Back to the question I have for you," he said in a voice as soft as silk but as menacing as a snake. "What do you hope to gain by remaining with your friends? I would like to know, but unfortunately, you can't answer. Hear me out, and take these words to heart. You're not going to gain anything, little Kai. You may get memories of happiness, but the real outcome of staying with them? You will haunt them, young one. You're a Dark, and Darks are not trustworthy, no matter how close you are to them. They will always be wary of you. I should know, little Kai. I am one myself. 

"But," the man added, putting lots of emphasis into the word, "you and I are the same. Untrustworthy, evil, Darks, murderers... I'm sure you've heard all of those words before. Those are just some of the adjectives to describe us. It ticks me off, really. There's something different about you, little Kai, I can sense it. If you stay with your friends... They will eventually pull away from you, or simply die. This adventure you're going on to rescue ... Shintaro ... could kill one of them. I have heard of Moon and how dangerous she is. You do not want to trifle with her. Me, on the other hand... I could help you. I could make you see who you really are. Help you master your abilities. I am a Spirit, so there is no such thing as death for me. You will never lose me. Whereas... everyone you know now... They will die, most likely before you do."

Kai wanted so badly to open his mouth, to scream, to protest, to argue, to tell the man 'no', but his mouth couldn't move. He couldn't move. He could only lie there in silence as the man took a deep breath and began walking around Kai again. 

This isn't real. 

There isn't another Dark Spirit talking to me.

Everything he says is wrong.

I won't listen to him. 

He's not real.

Wake up, wake up, 

WAKE UP. 

 "I'm real, little Kai," the man laughed, stopping at Kai's side. "I'm very, very real..."

With a jolt, Kai realized that he could move. He tore open his eyes and pushed himself up into a sitting position, panic, confusion, and anger pounding through his veins. He couldn't see the man standing beside him, only darkness. 

"And there's nothing you can do about it," the man finished with a cackling laugh. He stooped in front of Kai's face, and he caught a glimpse of blood red eyes and a fanged smile before he slammed his eyes closed in panic.

"NO!" he screamed. 

The laughing continued. It echoed all around him, drowning out Kai's panicked gasps. It bled through his hands even as he cupped them over his ears. It ran in shivers along his spine, making his body tremble. Even his own thoughts dissolved into the cackling laughter. 

He couldn't move, couldn't think, couldn't breathe. 

There was nothing he could do.

~

Hey, look, I updated again! 

I think I'm finally getting past this writer's block. I've just gotta figure out what happens in between some things, because I've already got a lot of the future chapters planned out...

I work to slowly in reality but too quickly in my mind...

Welp, thanks so much for being so patient and reading this!! 

Love y'all!! 

Peace!!~~