Part Five: Disturbance

by: Shiryu


            Simply put, Tina did not trust Kimberly. Nor did Kimberly trust her. Not at that moment in time, as the seconds ticked away, and the three of them stood in the middle of a storm.

 

            “So that means you actually know who it is, then?” Tina said, forcing her tone to be civil, as Johnny’s hand clasped reassuringly on her wrist.

 

            “Of course not,” Kimberly replied vehemently. “If I knew, I’d have killed the bastard long ago. All those people, all those kids-!”

 

            “I know. I’ve seen them. And there’s probably another corpse waiting for us right now,” Tina bit out, voice unusually frustrated. “There are no clues, no weapons, absolutely nothing, and it scares me, Kimberly. Because if this person, this thing, isn’t stopped, the next person won’t be faceless or nameless; the next person will be someone we know, someone we love.” As if to emphasize this, Johnny pulled Tina a little closer to him.

 

            “And the person we’re after could be the same,” Kimberly said quietly, ignoring the streams of water that traveled down her face.

 

            The fire in Tina’s eyes softened slightly, but it did not dim, instead compacting to a dangerous flicker that was threatening to explode into raging waves once more.

 

            “Tina, let’s go,” Johnny said gently. “We should get out of here.”

 

            “And go after the body?”

 

            “No. Let’s just go home. You’re tired, I’m tired, and there’s nothing we can do.”

 

            “…fine.” The syllable sounded like an admittance of defeat, but Tina paid it no mind, exhausted from the many nights of aimless searching. She allowed Johnny to lead her away, and Kimberly looked surprised at the sudden lack of conflict.

 

            “Kimberly,” Tina called. They looked back each other, weary. “Tomorrow…” She left off, unsure how to continue. But Kimberly nodded in understanding.

 

            “Tomorrow, I guess,” she replied. With that, they all left.

 

            There was only one body that night.

~*~*~*~*~*~



            “I love you, remember that. Okay?” whispered the girl, lacing her fingers with that of the boy’s. “I’ll stick by you, no matter what. Even for this.”

 

            “Thank you,” murmured back the boy, clasping her hand tighter. “I love you, too.”

 

            Tendrils of light seemed to mingle with the shadow as the dancing fire cast light and shadow over all.

 

            And the couple sat in the midst of it all, unperturbed by the spreading pool of blood around them.

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

            “So…” Tina started awkwardly, suddenly extremely interested in the bridge of her cello. Kimberly similarly seemed to be particularly focused on her violin’s scroll.

 

            “What did you mean by watch?” Kimberly asked softly.

 

            “I heard Khue and Nick talking about something a few days ago,” Tina began hesitantly. “About… powers.”

 

            Kimberly’s gaze shifted discreetly. “So do you think Khue killed all those people?”

 

            “I don’t know,” Tina murmured honestly. “I don’t think she’s the kind of person to do this. But then again, I’d have never thought you’d be the kind of person to go after a murderer. No offense.”

 

            “It’s okay. But then… couldn’t it be someone else?”

 

            “That’s why I said watch. Watch… everyone.”

 

            “How do you know it’s someone we know?” she queried. Tina paused.

 

            “Because I saw the person.” Kimberly froze imperceptibly.

 

            “So it was Khue?” she demanded. “Oh, my goodness…”

 

            “No. I didn’t see them too well. It was someone we know, though, I’m positive.”

 

            “Anyone we could ask?”

 

            “Well, she was talking to Nick. What Nick knows, he’d probably talk to about with Kierra.”

 

            “Unless he promised not to say anything; then we have no chance.”

 

            “Darn.”

 

            “But… what else did you see?” Kimberly said thoughtfully.

 

            “They did something…” Tina stopped, eyes wide with realization. “Oh! You have lightning, right?” Kimberly nodded, frowning slightly. “Johnny has water, and I have fire. If they can escape so easily, kill so easily, then it could be possible that they have powers, too.”

 

            “What did the person do?” Kimberly asked, everything dawning on her.

 

            “I couldn’t breathe for awhile,” Tina bit her lip. “And my fire went out.”

 

            “Fire needs air to burn,” Kimberly nodded.

 

            “So we’re dealing with a murderer who can manipulate air?”

 

            “Guess so.” They sat in silence.

 

            “Do personalities necessarily go with elements?” Kimberly said suddenly.

 

            “Maybe. I haven’t seen enough to figure it out.”

 

            “Same.”

 

            The bell rang then. “So… watch and listen?”

 

            “Yeah.” Tina stood up. “Watch and listen.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

            Kimberly’s eyes narrowed.

 

            The rain last night had drenched the grass, turning the quad into a temporary bog.

 

            And surely she hadn’t imagined it when Sonya passed by, and the swaying grass seemed to freeze by the cement path.

 

            “Hi, Kim!” the hazel-eyed girl called out as she passed by.

 

            “Hi, Sonya!” she waved back, mood going from suspicious to cheerful and sparkling in the blink of an eye.

 

            Surely, she wasn’t imagining it when the air around Sonya had seemed colder, causing her to shudder in the air. Discreetly, she changed her path, to step lightly upon the stiffened grass.

 

            The brittle blades crackled underfoot, and her eyes widened, throwing a frightened glance over her shoulder as Sonya headed into the band room, unaware of her watcher.

 

            Surely… it couldn’t be…

 

            Shaking her head, as though to ward off a ridiculous notion, she never stopped walking.

 

            It wasn’t until later that she realized that the loose strands of her braids were damp with thawing frost.

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

            Kimberly’s eyes narrowed.

 

            The rain last night had drenched the grass, turning the quad into a temporary bog.

 

            And surely she hadn’t imagined it when Sonya passed by, and the swaying grass seemed to freeze by the cement path.

 

            “Hi, Kim!” the hazel-eyed girl called out as she passed by.

 

            “Hi, Sonya!” she waved back, mood going from suspicious to cheerful and sparkling in the blink of an eye.

 

            Surely, she wasn’t imagining it when the air around Sonya had seemed colder, causing her to shudder in the air. Discreetly, she changed her path, to step lightly upon the stiffened grass.

 

            The brittle blades crackled underfoot, and her eyes widened, throwing a frightened glance over her shoulder as Sonya headed into the band room, unaware of her watcher.

 

            Surely… it couldn’t be…

 

            Shaking her head, as though to ward off a ridiculous notion, she never stopped walking.

 

            It wasn’t until later that she realized that the loose strands of her braids were damp with thawing frost.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

            “So, did you find anything?” Tina asked in a tight voice, as she prodded her lunch with a spork.

 

            “Nothing,” Kimberly replied, fidgeting a little. “Except…”

 

            Tina stopped, before casting Kimberly a tired glance. “Except what?

 

            “Sonya… I think… she’s one of us.” She rushed on, “but – but I don’t think she’s the killer – “

 

            “But who knows,” Tina finished grimly for her, before stabbing her hamburger. She raised her voice. “Jeannie, do you want my apple juice?”

 

            “Yes! Muahahaha!” And Jeannie dived down and gave Tina an impromptu hug, before settling on the metal bench just out of earshot, happily occupied with the juice pouch and the various conversations around her. Sighing, Tina gave Kimberly a curious look.

 

            “Why aren’t you out playing basketball with Khue?”

 

            “She needed to talk to Nick for some reason,” she muttered, staring aimlessly up at the cloudy skies.

 

            “You don’t think Nick has anything –“ began Tina.

 

            “Get your hands off me!” came the enraged yell. “I’m serious, or I’ll slap you!”

 

            “Kierra?” Both girls peered to where some yards away, Kierra had her hands raised against a blond boy, one hand wrapped around her wrist.

 

            Inquisitive looks were thrown their way, but they had not caused a scene. Yet.

 

            “I swear I’ll do it,” threatened Kierra, blue eyes blazing. “I swear-“

 

            “Get away from her. Now.”

 

            The sudden, but unseen shockwave of power seemed to roar through their bodies, leaving the two girls breathless and wide-eyed, hunched over from the overwhelming echo, staring horrified at the ground.

 

            Tina wondered faintly if she was hallucinating; or was the sky truly darker, and a little more menacing?

 

            Quivering slightly, they looked up warily in the direction the invisible explosion seemed to originate from. While it was clear no one had felt it to quite to the extent they had, they had all noticed some measure of it, for all eyes were pointed at the cause.

 

            Their gaze landed on Nick, barely masked fury resonating from every cell of his being, as he stood face to face with Kierra’s provoker.

 

            And mere feet behind him, was Khue, half-risen from her seat, eyes speaking volumes of disbelief and anger, vowing blood as they seemed to look straight through Nick.

 

            Kimberly almost recoiled from the twisted look upon her friend’s face and what it implied, even though she was several yards away, when she heard Nick’s voice, an odd tone to the normally carefree voice.

 

            “You heard her. Let. Go.” And he stepped forward.

 

            She nearly retched when another sudden wave, this one somewhat stronger than the first, rolled forth, just as Khue stood up, just as Nick moved forward. As she stared in disbelief at the scene, the blond-haired boy let go of Kierra’s wrist as though he had been burned, backing away from Nick’s steady, hateful gaze.

 

            The tension in the air was electrifying, disorienting, and Tina couldn’t pinpoint it, wasn’t sure she wanted to triangulate when everything seemed to point to her friend, glaring death at the boy.

 

            Nick, however, was oblivious to the scene he had caused, and for the first time in history, the quad was completely silent. Not a blade of grass swayed, not a whisper fell from lips. The shadows seemed darker, seemed to dance around the scene like an eerie play, the subjects of which were too preoccupied to notice the beckoning tendrils curling around their feet.

 

            The air trembled as Nick stepped forward once more, and the sickening nausea in her gut only seemed to increase. The air, the air…

 

            But who was it coming from? Who?

 

            “Get the fuck out of here,” Nick said in a near snarl, eyes hard.

 

            “But –“

 

            “NOW!” Nick lunged like a leopard, sleek and deadly, eyes burning, and Khue moved too, a fan in her grasp, finality in her eyes, as Tina’s senses seemed to explode and warp, her mind crying at her as the air burned in her lungs, all around her –

 

            During all this, Kierra had backed away, oddly calm in the face of disaster, a bizarre look in her blue eyes, of… triumph?

 

            And as Khue brushed past her, she reached one pale hand out to grab Khue’s wrist, pulling her back, away from the scene. Surprised as she was yanked back from her headlong dash, she whirled around, and in that instant, Kimberly saw her eyes, wanting to kill, wanting to know – and she had to stop her, stop her before she killed, even if it was her friend, and Nick, had Nick been her target, was that why she ran – and Kierra was calm, so calm, what –

 

            “What is going on here?” boomed a voice from the direction of the office, and suddenly everyone froze.

 

            The darkness was gone, the killing, murderous intent in both Nick and Khue’s eyes gone, and Kierra’s composure didn’t even falter. At some point she had let go of her grip on Khue’s wrist, and the fan in Khue’s hand had vanished, like it had never even been there.

 

            Nick let go of his clasp on the unnamed boy’s shirt, and he squabbled away, babbling nonsense, as Mr. McKane loomed over them.

 

            “This guy – he’s crazy, Mr. McKane, he freaking attacked me – “

 

            “Because you attacked Kierra first,” Nick retorted.

 

            “Is this true?” The vice-principal directed his question to Kierra, who gestured helplessly towards the other teen.

 

            “He didn’t attack me, but I told him to let go and he wouldn’t listen, then Nick told him to let go and he did, and we told him to go away and he still wouldn’t listen!”

 

            “All right, all right,” he held up his hands to silence all further protests. “Come with me, and we’ll get some things straightened out. Come on.”

 

            Stone-faced, Nick followed him into the office, Kierra hurrying after him to brush comforting fingers over his hands. Sulking, the other boy trailed after them, muttering furious curses under his breath.

 

            Slowly, the hustle and bustle began to return to the quad, just as the bell rang. Many of the students were murmuring excitedly about what they had just witnessed, and Kimberly, exchanging a nervous glance with Tina, sprinted after Khue.

 

            When she was mere paces away, the air seemed to explode.

 

            It was like poison – she couldn’t breathe – it bit at her throat, her lungs, her skin – cold, everlasting cold – ruthless – the intent of a hunter – no, a killer – indiscriminate in target –

 

            “I’ll kill him.”

 

            She staggered, willing herself not to throw up, only a few more steps and she could reach Khue –

 

            And when she got closer, it all seemed to stop.

 

            Calm. Warm. Eerie. Like the quiet wake in the eye of a storm.

 

            “K – Khue…?” she said, fearful, and murderous eyes whipped back to meet her own – Tina was behind her, shivering –

 

            The chaos stopped. And Khue smiled at her, relieved. But for what reason, she didn’t know.

 

            “Hi, Riceball-chan. Hi, Tina. What’s up?” Her eyes were warm, friendly, but…

~*~*~*~*~*~



            “Tina,” she said, in the darkness of the park as they waited for Johnny. She paused. “I know you don’t really trust me, and I still don’t really trust you, but…”

 

            Tina sighed. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

 

            “No. But we’ll have to do it sooner or later, right? I heard her say she was going to kill him.”

 

            “And we can’t take any chances. And we both felt the effect in the air. It’s Khue.” Tina’s eyes dimmed. “I can’t believe…”

 

            “I know…”

 

            They stood in silence.

 

            “So will you do it, or will I?” Tina asked. Kimberly flinched.

 

            “I… I…” she shook her head. “Just… wait, until we get there, I guess.”

 

            “Okay.”

 

            “So tonight…” The words got caught in her throat, and Kimberly turned away, unable to see through the haze of tears.

 

            “It ends,” Tina finished, closing her own eyes.

 

            High above them, the sun’s shadow began to eclipse the moon.

 

            That night, the moon was stained with red.