Only The Young | ✔

Chapter Sixteen

They were back in Eden, 2020. Pollux knew it the moment he opened his eyes and the pale morning sun glared at him.

All three of them were lying in the middle of the road, and all the buildings that Pollux recognized now looked as if a giant had stepped through the town and crushed them under his feet. It was a disaster.

He was the first to wake, stumbling to his feet after shaking both Tehani and Castor awake. If he had expected that they would return to a normal world, he had clearly been wrong, and it made him wonder what effect the Yako spirit had on the present timeline because it was too suspicious to think otherwise.

"We're back." His twin said, helping an exhausted Tehani up. "What happened here?"

"Please don't tell me we are in some other alternate version of Eden," Tehani moaned. "My Eden doesn't look like this."

Pollux tuned out of their conversation, only one thing on his mind.

"Where is Yurika?"

His brother and Tehani snapped their mouth shut, then flinching at the last second when something seemed to drop down from the sky and land a few feet from them. They scrambled backwards as Yuri — no, the Yako spirit stood up with a speed frightening and a snarl that looked so foreign on Yurika's face.

"ついに、久しぶりに." Hurried words spilled from her lips and it took a slow second to realize that the spirit was speaking Japanese. He didn't have the chance to regret taking French over Japanese during his junior year in school because the Yako was charging for them.

Pollux dived to the right, scraping his arms on the asphalt. He cursed under his breath but there was no time to bask in the pain because like something out of a movie, lightening cackled at its fingertips and made the morning darken.

Pollux cast a glance to the left, seeing that Tehani was the one helping up Castor who was the most unathletic  person he knew, a little dive and he looked like he was about to die.

He jogged to them and for a moment, considered mocking Castor for his laziness but he shrugged, now was not the time.

"You alright?" He said, jumping slightly when thunder boomed, the sky was turning a pitch black fast and soon, they'd be too blind to see the Yako coming.

"No," Castor panted. At the same time, Tehani said;

"Yeah,"

"Where is Yur —, I mean it?" Pollux asked.

"Up there." Tehani pointed at the shadowy figure roaming the destroyed buildings.

An idea struck a chord in his chest.

"Hey, Yako thingy." His voice was a shout as he cupped his hand to his mouth. "I'm sure you've been waiting for your revenge and all on everyone in Eden, but as you can see, no one is here but us. You'll have to make do with us three." He gestured from himself to a furious Castor and a tight lipped Tehani.

"Are you stupid?" Castor smacked him. "Angering something that could kill us is never a good idea no matter how many times you watch that in a movie."

Pollux didn't listen, only continued with his taunts.

Yurika paused in her steps and the dark clouds cleared, he was prepare when she suddenly dashed for him, and he was half surprised when she stopped right in front of the catholic pendant cross he held up from his neck.

The Yako seemed to be fascinated for a second, before smacking him hard across the face that Pollux swore he saw stars and tasted blood. He heard Tehani scream and shout for him to run.

"C'mon, Yuri, fight it." He mumbled under his breath as he kneeled before her. He earned a wicked laugh and a kick to his chest that sent him sprawling on the asphalt.

He half wondered why he wasn't dead yet and for a single second, hope lit up in him, making him think that Yuri was somewhere in there but then he remembered that the Nogitsune liked to feed on pain and fear.

"You worthless thing." The words were a guttural growl on her tongue and nothing like how Yuri sounded like.

He sucked in a harsh breath, stumbled to his feet and ran as fast as his legs could carry him, he ducked into an alley that was littered with splintered wood and fallen bricks. Tehani and Castor were crouched there.

"Don't you ever try something like that again, you hear me, tu pedazo de mierda." Castor shook him, speaking in a harsh whisper.

"What do we do now?" Pollux asked, clutching his ribs. He touched a hand to his, unsurprised that his hand came away red with blood. The blow from the nogitsune still made his head pound and his breathing shallow.

"Where is everybody?" Tehani asked.

"Clearly not here and no, I don't know what we are going to do." Castor shrugged. "It's only a matter of time before that thing finds us since we are its only prey."

"We need to put her down — until we can think of something." Tehani said, her voice dripping with desperation even though they all knew the truth. Nothing could be done for Yurika now, they were past that stage.

"Fine, any plans? I don't even know why I'm asking you since the last plan ended up shitty." Pollux snapped at her.

The witch sent him a glower that was frightening.

"I didn't see you eager to bring one. And don't you dare blame me for it, because Yuri is my best friend —" her voice cracked and she took a shaky breath. "I care for her more than you could ever imagine, so shut the fuck up."

"What if I offered you my blood?" Pollux said suddenly.

Their wide gazes snapped to him.

"We don't stand a chance against this thing without magic and blood magic is the only magic we have." Pollux stretched his arm forward, taking a sharp shard of glass from the ground and pressing it into her palm. "Use my blood."

He waited for them to object, even Castor didn't say a word, only clenched his jaw tighter. She took the shard and was in the motion of slicing his palm open when they heard the sirens.

Pollux jerked hard that he hit his head on the alley wall, he shoved the pain to the back of his mind and together they stepped out of the alley to see three police jeeps parked right in front of Yuri, her back turned to them.

He heard Tehani make a noise of surprise when her father and ten other people stepped out of the jeep — among them was Yurika's father wearing exhaustion and his sheriff uniform, Pollux watched the man's composed expression shatter as she met his daughter's glowing amber eyes.

He did something Pollux never thought he would, raised his gun and fired, hitting his daughter in the chest. It was something none of them had expected, the Yako was a trickster, thinking it could play on fear and emotions but it had definitely not expected one man to take it down unhesitatingly.

Chaos ensued and Pollux wasn't sure who was screaming — him or Tehani.

The other ten including the Mayor linked hands and began to chant loudly in a language he didn't understand.

He wanted to go to her, even though he knew Yuri was far gone but he still tried, thrashing against Castor's hold, Castor might be the most unathletic one, but he had once taken a Taekwondo class in PE.

Tehani was just staring and he was shouting at her, to move, go do something.

The Yako — no, Yuri was thrashing around, lightening sparking at her finger tips and howling at the pain, the Yako might have been free to rain havoc but it was also susceptible to the things that could kill its human host.

The chanting grew louder and louder, the wind seemed to howl as it did and when it was over, Yurika was lying still.

Dead.