Onyx and the Possession

Face to Face With Fear

The ninja had finally managed to shake Yang and were taking a breather in an empty room full of paintings. "Ah. All right, so there's no way out of the Haunted Temple, but at least all the commotion's died down," Jay panted. "Yeah, we just gotta get through the night together. Show Yang we're not scared," Kai agreed.

While the others took a moment, Onyx examined the paintings around the room. A particular one of an Angel lying on a black rock outcropping caught her eye. She tilted her head at the angel's expression. Wrathful, furious, brooding, and yet he had tears in his eyes. His body was slightly reclined, and yet the muscles were tense as if he were ready to strike. Onyx found something about this painting to be utterly fascinating. "If we ever get out of here, I want this painting," she remarked. Jay wrinkled his nose. "Ew, gross! He's naked," Jay said, wrinkling his nose. Onyx rolled her eyes. "That's not why I like it," she said.

"All right. Anyway, there's no way out of the Haunted Temple, but at least all the commotion's died down," Kai said pointedly, rerouting the conversation. Cole nodded. "Yeah, we just gotta get through the night together. Show Yang we're not scared," Jay agreed, dropping the subject of the painting. Suddenly, the loud chiming of a clock made them all jump.

"It's just a clock. We're not afraid of time, but we are afraid of not getting outta here in time. Oh my gosh, why did we spend the night in a haunted temple?" Cole gasped with a shiver. Onyx shuddered. "He's right. Being a ghost means we died," she said. "EVERYONE GET AHOLD OF YOURSELVES! EVEN IF MY VOLUME WASN'T STUCK, I'D STILL BE YELLING AT THIS DECIBEL!" Zane shouted, clapping his hands together. Onyx took a stressing breath and nodded. "He's right. We need to get over it. We already failed once. We can't do so again," she said.

"Uh, guys? Are paintings supposed to move?" Kai asked, walking up to a painting of the ocean, where the waves were rolling and crashing, tossing about a tiny ship. Onyx frowned when she saw it. The boat looked just like the one her father had once sailed. "No, they're definitely not," she said. Jay poked the painting, which caused water to begin to pour from it. Onyx yelped and leapt back as the spray from the painting hit her face, filling her mouth with the taste of seawater.

"Why did you touch the scary picture, Jay?" Cole snapped as the water began to rise around their ankles. "I didn't know it would do that, Cole!" Jay spat back. Kai waded hurriedly over to the door and yanked on the handle. His eyes widened as it didn't open. "Unh! It's locked! Ugh!" He cried. "Is it a push door?" Jay asked. "The hinges are on this side. No!" Onyx cried, climbing up on the desk. "As iron sharpens iron, Sensei sharpens student!" Yang's voice suddenly filled the room, though they couldn't see him.

"Oh, great, back for round two," Jay groaned. Kai's tugging on the door became more desperate. "Water. I'm afraid of...water. We're all gonna drown!" He cried. "It's all in your head, Kai. He's trying to scare us out so we don't get Airjitzu," Jay said as the water lifted them off of the floor. "I don't know, tastes pretty real to me," Cole said, spitting out a mouthful of water. Zane's eyes suddenly widened. "WHERE'S KAI!?" He shouted.

Onyx looked desperately around but couldn't see him. She began to breathe quickly, eyes darting around for a way out as the water rose higher. "We're all going to drown," she squeaked, looking up at the ceiling, which was drawing alarmingly close. "Onyx, breath," Cole said firmly. Onyx swallowed hard, trying to follow his advice. She winced as the saltwater stung her eyes, blinking rapidly to clear them.

Suddenly, she felt a pull at her leg. Onyx gasped in horror, thoughts of strangleweed and sea creatures flashing through her mind. A moment later, she realized that it was simply a current and that the water level was going down. She held her breath as she was yanked down alongside the others, spilling out into the hallway moments later in a flood of water. Onyx lay on her back, breathing hard as her heart thundered in her chest.