Heroes in the Shadows

Chapter 20 Pressure

As the sun began to set, the flying car with wings made its way slowly down into a clearing. Both Lloyd and Kai jumped with the abrupt landing. The two teens noticed that the car's wings gradually disappeared into golden dust. Lloyd glanced towards his master to see him worn out to the bone.

"Are you okay, Uncle?" Lloyd asked, putting a hand on the old man's shoulder.

"Yes, but we should walk the rest of the way. The flying car would be too easy to follow," Wu explained with a raspy voice.

"You should at least rest before we walk," Lloyd pointed out with obvious worry. Kai glanced outside the window to see that they were surrounded by trees with only the setting sun giving any light.

"Where are we exactly?" Kai questioned his principal, clearly confused.

"Somewhere the police hopefully won't find us. Our vacation home should be a few miles deeper into the woods," Lloyd recalled, pointing in front of him.

"Miles?! Jeez, you guys sure love your solitude," Kai remarked while stepping out of the car to stretch.

"Hey, when your family has Elemental Masters then you would want to be away from everyone to catch a break," Lloyd replied, opening his door.

"Fair enough," Kai answered, still grumbling to himself. Lloyd took out his flip phone again and started dialing. "Who are you calling?"

"My mom. She should be at the vacation home already..." Lloyd trailed off as he held the small device to his ear. "Mom, we're right on the outskirts of the woods. But we may need a little help getting there." Silence filled the grassy area as Kai turned away from the green colored teen. He stared at the trees that were only a few yards away. The leaves and branches blew as the afternoon's breeze picked up. He looked up at the clouds and leaned against the car. He listened to his own breath as his eyes refused to turn away from the clouds.

How did I get into this mess? Just last night I was on a date, thinking my life was normal. Now I'm apparently an Elemental Master, on the run, trying to find one of the only family that I have left. How does all of that even work!?

"Well, my mom's on her way to pick us up. I... Kai? You okay over there?" Lloyd questioned, noticing the teen's shaky behavior.

"No but does that even matter right now? All of this is happening way too fast," Kai admitted while his hand brushed through his hair. Lloyd frowned at the teen's words. He's use to giving his own inspirational speeches at moments like this, but he stopped himself. He noticed the distant look in Kai's face as he stared at the ground. The fiery teen's arms were crossed, and his hands gripped his sleeves rather tightly. He narrowed his gaze as if he was examining the ground.

"Kai..." the name slipped out of Lloyd's mouth. The older teen turned away from him and walked a few feet away from the car. The Green Ninja cursed inside his head and stepped back to leave the fiery teen alone.

Meanwhile, a loud clanking sound banged throughout the halls of the secret base. Nya punched, kicked, and pulled with all her might at the bars in front of her. However, the stone cuffs now wrapped around her wrists made it even more impossible to break free.

"Hey, Water girl, would you mind being a little less annoying over there? Some of us are trying to sit in silence," Morro complained from his cell. Nya eyed him while she panted.

"Would you be a little less of a jerk over there? I'm not just gonna give up."

"The bars are still made of Venge Stone, and we can't even use our powers anymore with these cuffs. There's nothing else we can do," Morro replied while sitting on the floor.