Radioactive: Chapter Three

Radioactive

Chapter Three

~Home~

Kaiba watched closely as the doctor walked across the room. He and Kiri had managed to get back to the Island in one piece, more or less. Now he sat in the doctor’s office waiting for the doctor to tend to his wounds.

The office was a good size. Kaiba sat on the desk in the room. A coat hook was near the door carrying a wide brimmed hat and a black jacket. The carpet was a calming blue and many potted plans sat in the unoccupied corners of the office. The walls were hidden behind shelves of books. All of the books had something to do with the serial killer known Dr. Jekyll. For years, the man killed dozens of criminals as a type of mysterious vigilante, a hero to some. Kaiba looked quickly at the different titles. The doctor walked back with a black suitcase.

The doctor’s black eyes were unfeeling and showed no emotion. Strands of his black hair fell over his emotionless face. He placed the suitcase on the desk beside Kaiba and opened it. The doctor rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt then put on some latex gloves. The silence was broken as he deliberately slapped the gloves on. He glared at Kaiba momentarily.

Kaiba met the man’s gaze as he took off his bloodstained coat. He offered his wounded arm to the doctor. The man took it and only then did he glance down to look at it.

“Well, I’ve seen worse. It’s a shame you’re sitting here instead of on a slab at the morgue,” the doctor said casually as if they were talking about the weather.

“It’s good to see you too, Jekyll,” Kaiba muttered.

Jekyll stuck his long slender finger into the wound. The look on Kaiba’s face was one of pain, “Did that hurt? I do hope it did.”

“What’s all this about this time?” Kaiba snapped.

“I have a new patient. Maybe you’ve heard of him? He’s about, oh, ye high and acts a bit like an arse,” Jekyll switched out his gloves and opened a bottle.

He poured the bottles contents on Kaiba’s arm. A sharp pain shot up Kaiba’s arm. He clenched his teeth to avoid showing Jekyll the extent of pain that he was in.

“What operation did I pull you away from this time?” Kaiba asked through his teeth.

“A riveting brain surgery,” Jekyll sighed, “Now that inferior Dr. Jones has to take my place. You seem to choose the most horrible times to request my services.”

“I apologize,” Kaiba muttered, “I didn’t realize you liked your job so much.”

Jekyll looked at him, “I don’t. The other doctors are just so vastly inferior in their ability.”

Kaiba looked blankly at the doctor for a long moment. Jekyll tied up the wound neatly in white bandages.

“Keep that on for twenty-four hours,” Jekyll instructed, “The ointment should fully reconstruct the missing flesh my then. Fortunate for you, your bones are made of metal, the bite didn’t break the bone.”

Kaiba stood up and took off his shirt, “Yeah, well, it’s times like this I’m glad I’m an Other.”

Jekyll gave a dismissive ‘mhmm’ as he poked around the wound on Kaiba’s back, “Looks like it hit your shoulder blade. Should heal rather quickly.”

More ointment went on the wound and a large adhesive bandage as well. When finished, Jekyll took off his gloves and cleaned up. Kaiba put a new shirt on.

“Was wondering,” Kaiba started.

Jekyll stopped what he was doing and looked at Kaiba with death in his eyes, “What?”

“The creature we brought back—”

“I’ll get to it when I get to it. Until then, do not bother me about it,” his voice was low and murderous.

“Keep you schedule open, Jekyll,” Kaiba draped his coat over his injured arm, “There might be more of those things running around. I might need you to follow up.”

“I look forward to it,” Jekyll sighed, “Do try not to call me next week Tuesday. I have a colonoscopy to perform.”

“Have fun?” Kaiba was unsure of how to respond.

Jekyll pointed to the door, “Out.” Kaiba headed to the door. Jekyll called to him just before the door closed, “You owe me.”

“I know,” Kaiba said as he closed the door.

Kaiba stopped a moment when he saw Kiri standing across from the door. He collected himself and started walking toward the waiting room of the hospital. Kiri straitened from leaning against the wall and followed him. For a moment, they were silent as Kaiba walked a few steps ahead of Kiri. When they exited the hospital, it changed.

“I told you to not wait for me and to go back to the Tower,” Kaiba muttered as they walked toward their car.

“I must have misheard you, sir,” Kiri lied.

“Misheard?” Kaiba looked at her. He looked away and muttered to himself, “Even with the best programing they all start getting personalities that they weren’t programed to have.”

Kiri said nothing though she heard exactly what he said. They both walked to the driver’s side. Kaiba sighed.

Kiri opened her mouth before Kaiba could say anything, “You don’t expect to drive with that arm of yours, do you?”

“Maybe I do,” Kaiba said; there was an edge to his tone.

Kaiba opened the car door. Kiri rolled her eyes and walked around to the other side. It was dead silent in the car as Kaiba drove. Kiri sat with her arms crossed in disapproval. She looked out the window. The sun was setting and the evening crowds were starting to come out. She stared out the window.

They drove through the city. Kaiba pulled up in front of the Tower. Kiri stepped out and expected Kaiba to do the same. He didn’t.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Kaiba stated.

Kiri looked at him, “You aren’t coming in? Don’t you need to report to Sirius?”

“No,” Kaiba said, “I can report to him at home. I’m tired.”

Kiri nodded, grabbed the briefcase and closed the door. She stepped back as the car drove off. Kiri stood there until she couldn’t see his car anymore. She turned around and entered the Tower muttering profanity about how stupid Kaiba could be.

Kaiba drove home. It was far enough away from the city and the Tower for some relaxation. Yes, he still lived with his parents but the house was big enough for him to have his own wing which he shared with his younger brother Lynx. The house, more like mansion actually, was on the coast facing east. He pulled up to the front door and went inside, leaving the vehicle for the butler to pull into the garage.

It was a spacious home. Kaiba walked through the living room. He caught a glimpse of his younger brother Chaud sitting on the couch playing video games. His younger sister sat beside him watching the screen intently. Kaiba walked to his side of the mansion and passed Lynx on the way. His brother was looking at some blue prints and barely noticed Kaiba as he walked by.

Kaiba stepped into his room and sat on his bed. He sat a moment, considering what to do next then he glanced at his clock. Kaiba got up and walked to a desk where a computer sat silently. He decided to type up his full personal report instead of wait for his father to come home. When he finished, he sent the document to his father and started doing more work.

A little chime echoed from the computer. Kaiba briefly looked at the bottom of his screen. Kiri had messaged him.

I thought you were tired.

Kaiba stared at the note for a moment. He was suddenly annoyed. What business of hers was it that he was doing work? He decided to ignore it. At least one of them wasn’t going to be wasting any precious time.

Iridescent: Chapter Three

Iridescent

Chapter Three

~Spiders and Butterflies~

After the Fall

A deer walked cautiously out of the cover of the woods. It held its head high looking for any danger. It tentatively walked toward the water’s edge. When it thought it was safe it bowed its head to drink the water from the stream.

A hunter drew back his bow, the arrow notched and ready. He waited a while longer when the deer suddenly shot up its head. Its ears darted to and fro, as it tried to listen for any sounds.

“I’m sorry,” the hunter whispered, “You must die so that we may live.”

The arrow flew toward its target. It struck the creature’s heart. The deer didn’t feel any pain. The hunter stood up from his crouching position and walked toward his kill. He got down to one knee and brought out a knife.

“Hey, Kumo,” the hunter said, “Why don’t you make yourself useful and get down here and carry some of this meet?”

A boy around age eighteen dropped down from a tree. His long brown hair was tied back into a tie around the base of his neck. He wore an off white sweat shirt and black pants and shoes. On both his hands was a glove-like device that made it so the tips of his fingers had metal claws attached. Kumo tossed a bag at the hunter.

“No thanks, Naru,” Kumo smiled, “It looks like you’ve got things.”

Naru looked over his shoulder, “Then I would appreciate it that in the future you stay far away from where I’m hunting. That deer almost spotted you. You’re lucky it didn’t run off.”

Kumo laughed, “Nothing gets by you, does it?”

“Not much,” Naru cut away at the deer, “Where are the girls?”

Kumo shrugged, “How am I supposed to know, Mr. Observant? You figure it out. I was hoping you knew.”

Naru rolled his eyes, “What do you do for this group again?”

Kumo had to think a moment, “Well, uh…”

Naru filled the bag with fresh cut meat and threw it at Kumo, “Go back to the cave and cook that meat. I’ll go find the girls.”

Kumo held the bag at arm’s length, “Do I have to?”

“I’ll be back with the girls when I find them,” Naru ignored Kumo’s complaint.

Naru placed the compound bow in a makeshift quiver on his back. He ran through the stream and followed it through the woods. There was a fallen tree over the stream. One end lay against a tree on the other side. He jumped onto the tree and ran toward the standing tree that supported the fallen. Naru traveled above ground through the trees. He moved easily like a snake traveling from tree to tree. When needed, he swung from branch to branch.

After he traveled a ways, he dropped down from the trees. He spotted something in the dirt and looked a closer look at it. Naru looked at a foot print in the dirt. He recognized the print. It was Hina’s. He sighed, wondering what she was up too. Naru continued on foot and followed Hina’s footprints. He stopped a moment as the sky rumbled overhead.

“Not good,” Naru muttered.

He ran on and came out into the fields. Naru relaxed slightly when he saw his sister standing by their female traveling companion. They sat close together talking to one another. Naru walked closer to the two girls. The other girl turned toward him and stood up. Hina only then noticed her brother’s appearance.

“Hello, Naru,” the girl greeted. Her hair was short and black. She wore a sleeveless shirt black shirt and pants. Instead of shoes, she wore sandals. She wore a black belt with four hand fans attached.

“Hey, bro!” Hina greeted, the chains wrapped around her arms shifted.

“Hina, Chou, we should head back,” Naru said as thunder rumbled through the sky.

Hina looked up and nodded, “I guess.”

“We will follow you,” Chou bowed slightly.

“Come on,” Naru turned and led them back into the forest.

He slowed his pace slightly so that they could follow easily. That meant no traveling through the trees. The trek was easy enough on the ground. They reached a cave just before the rain fell. After all the chemicals in the air it was wiser not to be out in the rain. There was no way to know what would be soaking through the skin into the body.

Rain started to fall on the leaves. The three travelers entered the warm cave just as the rain started. Kumo sat over a fire in the center of the small cave. The smells of deer meat permeated the room. When he saw the others at the cave entrance he smiled.

“It’s about time!” Kumo smiled, “I thought the three of you got lost.”

“Hello, brother,” Chou walked up to help cook, “Naru couldn’t steer us the wrong way even if he tried.”

“Let’s hope so,” Kumo stated.

“That’s more than what I could say about you,” Naru muttered.

Kumo pointed a knife in Naru’s direction, “Hey! It wasn’t my fault! If you thought we were so lost you should have said something!”

Hina looked back and forth between Naru and Kumo and shook her head. The month they had been traveling with each other had been rough. For some reason, Naru and Kumo were at odds with each other. They tried their best to get along but each had to protect the women in their lives. It was quite possible they would fight to the death if they needed to and it was still a toss-up on who would win. They had very similar builds in that they were built for speed and agility. Secretly, Hina thought Naru would win but then again she was a little bias in the matter.

Chou stood between them without making seem obvious.

“Hey, Kumo!” she held up a few leaves, “I think I found some basil on the way back! Do you think we can use it?”

“You sure it isn’t poisonous?” Hina asked.

Kumo looked at her, “I think my sister knows her plants.”

Naru was about to open his mouth to defend her. Hina, knowing Naru, didn’t think that was a good idea. So in a not so discreet way, she punched him in the shoulder.

“Ow!” Naru rubbed his sore shoulder.

“Hey Hina,” Chou called, “Why don’t you come over here and help me season!”

“Sure,” Hina walked over to where Chou was kneeling over the fire.

The girls got along better than the boys. Naru walked over and set his quiver down by a backpack of his things. He sat in the corner and watched as the others gathered around the fire. The fire crackled as Naru looked into the flame.

After Hina had dragged him through the city they came across Kumo and his sister. Apparently they were apart of another team that was hired by the Tower. They were on their way to the dock when they had gotten separated after the New Order started bombing the Island. Their team was a favorite on the Island though not very well known. It turned out their leader enjoyed avoiding the spotlight.

“Here,” Kumo muttered as he handed Naru a piece of meat on a stick.

Naru accepted it and bit into the meat. He had to admit it was better seasoned than plane. Thunder and lightning crashed outside the cave. It wasn’t unusual, the sudden thunderstorms. With all the particles in the air, it was rarely a surprise. Naru enjoyed the rain. Maybe it had something to do with his powers. He listened to the fire, the rain, and the girls chatter. Kuro lay down with his back to the fire. Naru continued eating quietly.

It was strange how peaceful the rain was as it lulled him to sleep. Hina and Chou giggled with each other. She glanced over at her brother, his eyes closed in slumber.

“Do you want more?” Chou asked her.

Hina looked at the extra strips of meat, “No, thanks. We should save it.”

Chou nodded and started to wrap the meat in leaves, “We should have enough food to last us a few days. With Naru’s hunting we shouldn’t go hungry long.”

“You never know,” Hina said, “other people might get the same idea and there won’t be any deer left.”

Chou though a moment, “True,” she said. She looked out the cave entrance, “I just hope this storm passes before then.”

Hina knew what she really meant, “But the Tower’s gone. There isn’t anything we can do.”

“I like to think that the Tower is more than just a building,” Chou smiled, “I like to think that the Tower is inside all of us on the Island. We are just as much part of the Tower as the Tower is a part of us. I’m sure we can find a way to make things right.”

“You think?” Hina asked.

“No,” Chou sighed, “We have to make things right.”

****Did you know!?!****

Chou means ‘Butterfly’ in Japanese! Like how butterfly’s like flowers! Her Power!

Kumo means ‘Spider’ in Japanese! Kind of like spiders web in how he uses string!

****Now you do!!!****

The Turn: Chapter Forty-Three

The Turn

Chapter Forty-Three

~The End of the Order – Part 3~

The Turn

The driver ditched the limo a safe distance from the mansion. He grabbed anther car and continued on. The driver sped through the streets. He was unhappy, very unhappy. It was true. When Scar had seen him as a friend, the driver had seen Scar as a necessary resource to bring the New Order into being. Scar was just a mindless pawn that the driver had used for his own proposes.

He had had everything planned out. Scar would have lived a few more months, maybe a year if the driver allowed it, and would die from natural causes leaving him, the driver, in charge of the New Order. Everything was going according to plan. But then there was that pesky Tower and its Agents and the driver dealt with them accordingly. He thought that the rest of his plan would go on smoothly. But no, the Tower didn’t stay dealt with.

After the Tower fell, he made valiant efforts to find and capture its leader without avail. He did, however, find several documents, mostly newspaper clippings and pictures of a prominent family. With their pictures taken frequently, the driver assumed that that was who he was looking for. So he went behind Scar’s back, as he did frequently, and hired Others to go to the Island and find anyone in the family there.

They evaded the New Order’s watchful eyes until the driver got news that two of the family members had been spotted traveling together: a boy and a young girl. The rest of the family had been rumored to have escaped the Island. The driver commanded their capture and hoped that they would draw out the rest of the family from hiding. It didn’t work. The two evaded the hunters that he sent after them. As of six months ago, there was no sight of them.

If that wasn’t bad enough, now his whole plan to rule the world was in jeopardy and was starting to fray at the edges. Now, the former members of the Tower and many Others were fighting against the New Order. HIS New Order!

The driver gripped the steering wheel. The anger inside of him was building. Was it really any of the Tower’s business what he did? They should stay out of peoples business.

As he though angrily, someone walked casually out into the street. The driver swerved to avoid hitting the person. He crashed into a light pole. The driver managed to get out unharmed and looked around the deserted street. There was no sign of the man that he had seen cross the street.

He walked into the center of the street. There was only a doll laying on the pavement. The doll wore a grey coat and a grey hat. Its silver colored hair was neat and orderly, strange for something that could have been tossed onto the ground. It had no eyes, just shallow craters for eyes. The driver looked around but there was indeed no one to be seen.

The driver swore and turned up the street to look for another car. He heard something and turned. A ways away was another doll sitting on the curb of the road. It sat in a pink dress and had blond curls. A pink and white lase bonnet sat lightly on her head. The driver turned away and looked at the car. Sitting on the back trunk was another doll wearing a tiny suit and tie. It looked at the driver underneath its long black bangs.

The doll that lay on the ground sat up and got to its feet. Startle, the driver kicked the doll. In flew into a building wall and fell to the ground. The doll got back up and shook its head. It started walking toward the driver. The other dolls also got to their feet and started walking toward him. More dolls walked out from the alley ways. The driver turned and ran.

He ran down the street away from the strange dolls. The driver found another car and smashed the window open. He took the car and started driving. When he looked into the rearview mirror he slammed on the breaks.

“Who the heck are you!?” the driver shouted at the man in the back seat.

The man shrugged, “Who knows really? My parents called me Aaron, my uncle called me his apprentice, and my friends call me Puppetmaster. But my enemies,” Puppetmaster glared at the man, “You can call me Reaper.”

The driver drew his gun, “Get out.”

Puppetmaster held his hands out in front of him and smiled, “Now, now, there’s no need for that. I’m just here to tell you’re not going to win. Figured it’d be fair if you had a little warning at least.”

“I said get out!” the driver yelled.

The gem in Puppetmaster’s hair started to glow, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Puppetmaster snapped his fingers and he vanished in a swirl of purple mist. The driver looked around to make sure the intruder was truly gone. When he was confident that he was, the driver continued down the road.

There was a thump as a doll fell on the windshield. It sat up and looked at the driver. Another on fell on the roof, though the driver couldn’t see it he could hear it walking around on the roof. More and more fell from the sky on to his car. They blocked his vision of the street. They hung on his side mirrors and windows. The driver tried every way to rid himself of the dolls.

Ahead, Hina walked into the center of the road. The driver was blinded and was swerving all over the road. Hina placed her hands on her hips and sighed. The chains were still attached to her hands and fell to the ground. She looked over to her brother who was on the roof of the building next her. He tossed his head over to the car as if to say ‘well, get on with it’. Hina shrugged and raised her arms.

The chains whipped into the air and glowed a purple color. When she pulled the chains down they struck the ground. The shock wave that was created flipped the car over. The car spun over Hina as she ducked down. The car crashed and rolled further down the street.

Deontay walked out of an alley way toward the car. Dolls were scattered all over and he tried his best to avoid them while they got to their feet again. Deontay grabbed the driver side door and pulled it off its hinges. He threw it to one side and reached into the damaged car. He pulled the driver out of the car and pulled him to his feet.

“Well, look who we have here,” Deontay stated.

“Isn’t that the guy who spoiled our mission that time?” Vicky stood a ways a way.

 Zara walked up closer. She stood barely an inch from his face. With a smile she took a few steps back before uppercutting the driver in the chin and kicking his legs out from under him.

Chaud stood back and raised an eyebrow, “I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that it is.”

The driver was sprawled on the ground. He tried to reach for his gun but Zara kicked it out of his hand. Vicky stooped down to pick up the weapon. Zara grabbed the driver and pulled him to his feet.

“I hate losing,” she stated, “I really, really, really hate losing.”

“It true,” Deontay nodded, “The girl hates to lose.”

“And as I count it,” Zara smiled, “You’ve beaten me twice. I mean you walked into that building and pointed us out. At that point I was pretty ticked. After that my team and I set out to find out where this New Order hang out was and we lost. So you can understand my frustration when you destroyed my island, right? I lost twice already and that you appear off our shores and blow everything up. That made three losses. At this point, right now, it’s personal.”

Zara punched him in the face and let him fall to the ground. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“You feeling okay?” Chaud asked.

Zara nodded, “It wasn’t Scar but it felt good. Didn’t realize how much I hated this guy until now.”

Hina shrugged, “It happens.”

“What do we have here?” Kaiba walked up.

Fang stayed in his wolf form. He walked alongside Kaiba.

Kaiba looked at the driver and sighed, “Aren’t you supposed to be on the other side of town?”

Chaud looked at the others, “We got done early so we decided to do a little sightseeing. Found this guy here in the process.”

The others agreed, nodding their heads and saying agreeing statements. Kaiba sighed and rolled his eyes.

Fang walked up to the driver, “You won’t be causing us anymore trouble will you?”

“What are you doing here?” Chaud said, “Aren’t you supposed to be on the other side of town?”

“We’re here for him,” Kaiba nodded to the driver, “He killed Scar.”

“Wait,” Hina shook her head, “Aren’t they on the same side?”

“Apparently not,” Naru appeared out of nowhere. He was always light on his feet.

“We’ll know more later,” Kaiba stated, “For now we have a lot of work to do.”