Heroes in the Shadows

Chapter 15 Falling Apart

It wasn't long before Kai and Skylor arrived at the fiery teen's apartment. After jumping out of the car, Skylor followed the panicked boy up several flights of stairs. Sweat dripped down Kai's forehead both from fear and the sudden exercise. The two arrived at his door only to find it cracked open. Kai pushed it open to be horrified out of his mind. His family's apartment was destroyed. Furniture was torn, and items littered the whole floor. Worst of all was the giant hole in the wall. It was if an elephant had burst in from outside and stomped everything in its path. Terror overwhelmed Kai as he refused to look away from the disaster infront of him. He couldn't move. He couldn't breath. The bone crushing silence around him started to slowly ring in his ears.

"Kai... Kai!" A voice exclaimed. Kai snapped out of his trance and turned to the voice's source. Skylor was on her knees now, helping someone out from under a small pile of wreckage. It didn't take long for the fiery teen to figure out who it was.

"Aunt Lilly!" He shouted in alarm. The older woman coughed from the dust as Skylor helped her sit up. Her black hair was a mess, and her face was covered in scrapes and bruises. "Aunt Lilly, what happened?"

"T-these people. They b-burst in through that wall and destroyed the place. It all happened so fast I--" Aunt Lilly's pupils suddenly shrank once she remembered something. She clasped onto her nephew's arms tightly. Fear was clear in her gaze. "NYA! T-they took Nya! I tried to stop them, but they got away!" Kai processed his aunt's words, and he stood up quickly. Skylor watched as the teen headed over to the hole in the wall. Kai stared down at the allies just below them. Sirens blared in the distance as he searched for any direction the culprits could have gone. He then spotted a small group of figures rushing away from the sirens, in the distance.

"Kai?" Skylor asked carefully, seeing the teen's hardened gaze.

"Take Aunt Lilly to the hospital, Skylor. Please?" Kai requested his date before stepping away.

"Kai, what are-- DON'T YOU DARE FOLLOW THOSE GOONS. YOU HEAR ME, KAI!? I--" Aunt Lilly spat off as she watched her nephew race out of the apartment. Aunt Lilly cursed underneath her breath while Skylor kept her sitting up. The older woman tried to stand, but her body refused.

"I can't move my legs. Skylor, please stop him before he gets to them. Those people will tear him to shreds!" The woman cried in a panic.

"But you're injured. I can't just leave you. We need to get you to the hospital," Skylor insisted while dialing 911.

"Skylor, I don't want anyone else getting hurt. Go before someone else ends up needing a hospital!" She nearly shouted. The red head stared at the woman before her with sweat beginning to drip from her forehead. Silence consumed the two until a voice came over the phone. The teen quickly handed the woman her phone and stood up.

"I'm coming back right after. Be careful," Skylor replied with a serious gaze.

"I'm the adult here, sweetie. I should be the one saying that. Now Go!" She demanded before holding Skylor's phone up to her ear. The red head obeyed and began chasing after her date.

While Skylor practically sprinted down the steps, Kai was already out the door and following the direction he saw that group running. Alley after alley, the spikey haired teen zipped past each one, not caring how lost he got. Only one thing was on his mind and that was his little sister.

Kai quickly stopped in his tracks once he spotted the group at the end of an alley. Sirens continued to blare in the background. They were slowly growing louder and louder.

"Where do we go now, Seliel?" One guy spoke. No response came for a few seconds.

"But we already went that way!? The cops are coming! We're running out of time!" A more frantic voice exclaimed. The smaller figure's words confirmed Kai's suspicions as he inched forward.