0022. VIOLENT URGES
"ASHLYN!" KAIA SHOUTED out in complete horror as she was momentarily blinded by Ashlyn's flashlight as it fell from her grip. She and Aiden acted at the same time, both lunging for her, but Aiden's ankle gave out and he tripped causing him to accidentally drag Kaia down with him. "Ash!" Kaia gritted her teeth, shoving Aiden off of her as Ashlyn's head slammed into the top of her porch overhead. "Move!"
Kaia didn't give Aiden another second to react as she pushed herself to her feet, rushing towards Ashlyn, her hand reaching out to grip at a barely conscious Ashlyn's but it slips from her grip as Ashlyn fades into black and the phantom yanks her completely up onto the rooftop.
"Stay here!" Kaia commands Aiden without looking back at him as she grabs her bat from the ground, having previously dropped it upon catching him and quickly climbs up onto the roof. Kaia's teeth grit as she climbed up onto the rooftop, her eyes scanning the area as she pushed herself up onto the main rooftop and off of the porch hangover. "Ash!"
She couldn't spot her for a moment as she climbed up further onto the roof before she finally sees her attempting to get out from the phantoms grasp and a rage filled her at the sound of her panicked grunts. Kaia rushed towards her, careful of her footing as to not fall.
"Let go of her!" Kaia yells as she slammed her nail decorated bat onto the head of the phantom from behind causing it to part it's mouth, seemingly letting out a scream of pain as Kaia slammed her bat onto it's outstretched arm with was holding Ashlyn within it's grip. "You disgusting!" Slam. "Vile!" Slam. "Ugly!" Slam. "Creature!" Slam. "I'm going." Slam. "To kill." Slam. "You!"
Ashlyn stumbled back, almost stumbled off the roof if not for catching her footing as her hands clasped over her ears as the loud, pained screams of the phantom echoed in her ear, along side that of another phantom which she could not see, but could only hear as her eyes were squinted shut in pain.
Kaia let out another yell as she slammed her bat again onto the phantom, she didn't know if it was dead or not, she's hit it more times than she can remember, but she didn't care. She was going to hurt this wrenched thing for ever laying it's hand on her friend, on Ashlyn.
Ashlyn gritted her teeth as her ears were still screaming at her from all the noise and her eyes widen in horror as she sees the phantom approaching Kaia from behind. "Kai!"
Kaia could no longer hear her, only hearing the blood rushing to her head as she slammed her bat down onto the phantom once again, it's cold, black blood splattering against her cheeks, coating it a darker shade. She's never felt like this before, Kaia was usually a pretty calm girl, the only times she's ever really lost her temper were on Tyler and Aiden, and even that was just because of annoyance, she'd never felt anger like this, she's never craved to hear the screams of the phantom as she smashed her bat into it's deformed head. She's never been this violent.
"Kaia!" Ashlyn screamed out again in warning as she tried to push herself to her feet, but blood rushed to her head and she nearly faints as she stumbled to her hands and knees, staring in horror at the phantom that just raised it's hand to slash down upon her. "Don't touch her!"
The phantom paused behind Kaia in that moment, turning around to face her and just then, a bullet flew through the air. Piercing the phantom's head causing it to fall, though to Ashlyn's horror, it fell right on top of Kaia.
"Kai!" A familiar voice rung out that most certainly wasn't Ashlyn's, but Kaia didn't have enough time to process who it was before she felt a sudden body weight collide into her as her footing was lost, her body hitting the roof, her bat slipping from her grip. Just before she could slip off completely, as her bat had, a hand grasped her own and she was pulled up into the chest of a familiar boy. "I've got you." Aiden breathed out in complete shock as he held her close. "I've got you, you're okay..."
Kaia shook within his arms as, for the first time, she wrapped her arms back around him as she could feel his body shake in unison with her own, gripping at his shirt as she put her forehead to his chest. "Holy shit..." Kaia breathed out, her grip on the back of his shirt tightening as his one arm hung from his grip on his pickax, which was holding the both of them up and keeping them from falling.
Aiden buried his head into her shoulder, his grip tightening as he pulled her impossibly closer. "You're okay... Are you okay?"
"Define okay..." Kaia mumbled back, "cause I don't know..." She said, breathing heavily within his arms. Yet another question to add to the long list of one's that she couldn't answer from him. She didn't know if she was okay, she didn't feel okay, she felt like she wasn't herself, like she was experiencing an out of body moment.
That wasn't her just then. She knew it. She would have just beat it until it was off of Ashlyn, grabbed her and got them to safety, but no, just then, Kaia completely disregarded making sure Ashlyn was okay because in that moment, all she wanted to see was that phantom dead. Kaia was never usually that violent, sure she liked fighting to get her anger out, but she was never out right out of control and overly violent like she was then. She barely liked hitting people, threatening was fine, but actually hitting them was another story. Kaia hated things like that unless completely necessary. What she did just then, even if it was to that monster, wasn't necessary. It was long since limp, from the third time she hit it, it stopped being responsive, so why did she keep hitting it after that? Why did she beat it's face in? Why did she want to continue?
"It doesn't matter what I meant." Aiden tells her, breathing out as he pulled away, shocking himself as he pressed his forehead to hers. "You're alive. That's what matters to me. I thought I lost you..."
Kaia's eyes widen at the sorrowful tone that overtook his voice as blue met red and was met with tears being pooled in his eyes. Her stomach churned at the sight of them as she forced her thoughts away from her, putting her entire focus onto him. She hated the sight of tears within his usually cheery eyes, it didn't sit right with her. "I'm alive." She tells him softly, one of her hands leaving his back in order to cup his cheek, wiping away the tears that pooled in his eyes. "I'm okay, you got me."
She didn't know she was capable of speaking so softly, so kindly to another person, let alone to Aiden Clark, but here she was. Holding Aiden's cheek within her palm as she whispered reassurances that she would have never thought of leaving her lips only ten minutes ago.
From above them, Ashlyn crawled over the roof, her hands gripping at the tiles as she stared down at the two of them. She felt relief course through her at the sight of not only Kaia okay, but Aiden as well. She had seen Aiden rush past her with a look of complete despair, something she had never seen before on him, his smile had left him in that moment and as she sees it back on his lips as he stared down at Kaia, who was wiping his tears, she felt her heart lighten at the sight. They were okay, Kaia was okay. She breathed out in relief.
"You two are okay..." She muttered out, her voice catching their attention as they both look up at her, smiling at her.
"We're good." Kaia tells her as Ashlyn slides down just as Kaia and Aiden get a better footing, both of them grabbing her as Ashlyn was still dizzy with a possible concussion. "Are you okay?"
Ashlyn nods, wrapping her arm around Kaia's shoulder as the three of them slide down the remainder of the roof, towards the window. "Yeah, I'm okay."
"Ashlyn? Kaia? Aiden??" Taylor's voice rung out, worry lacing her tone just as the three of them reach the landing of the roof. "Guys?!" Taylor jumped as she turned to the side, seeing Kaia practically holding both Ashlyn and Aiden up as Ashlyn was still slightly out of it and Aiden's foot was flaring up with pain. "Woah!?"
"...We need help." Aiden choked out as he struggled to keep his footing as he gritted his teeth in pain.
"I need help." Kaia tells her as she passes Ashlyn over to Taylor first before Aiden forces her to go in first as Tyler helps her in and Aiden follows soon after, Tyler helping in as well.
"Guys, the phantoms are running in your direction! From what I can see, there's about 20 of them!" Logan informs them over the walkie talkie.
Kaia groaned at that as she glanced back to make sure Aiden got in alright before looking towards Ashlyn, who had her arm wrapped around Taylor's shoulder as the girl was holding her up. Kaia currently was weaponless, her bat having slid off the rooftop as she would have done if not for Aiden catching her last minute.
"Lovely." Tyler scoffed out sarcastically. "We need to leave, immediately!"
"Oh really?" Kaia questioned him, sarcasm lacing her tone as she moved towards Taylor, taking Ashlyn from her grip and situation the ginger easily on her bag. She figured that since she had no weapon, it would be better to take Ashlyn in order to help in some way. "I think we should stay and wait for them a bit. I'm sure it'll be lovely meeting them face to face!"
Taylor smiled at Kaia in thanks, there was no way she was strong enough to support Ashlyn all the way to the car. "Ben, hand me the keys please and can you carry Aiden?" Ben nods, taking Aiden from Tyler's arms and situating him on his shoulders instead of his back like Kaia had done for Ashlyn. "Since Ashlyn isn't in the condition to drive anymore, I will-"
A loud crash echoed throughout the home and Ashlyn's arms tightened around Kaia causing the girl to squeeze her thighs in order to reassure her as she pushed her up more on her back. "That came from downstairs..." Ashlyn muttered as her arms stayed wrapped around Kaia's neck.
"Probably the phantoms that spotted me on the street." Tyler tells them as he stands beside Kaia, eyeing her for a moment to make sure she had it handled, but nodded to himself as he realized Kaia didn't even seem like she was struggling to hold Ashlyn's weight.
"And there's about to be a lot more." Aiden smiled as his hands rested on Ben's head as he stared out the window behind him, seeing the mass amount of phantoms rushing towards the house.
Kaia nodded, her lips pursed as she took the lead, opening the door only to let out a yell of shock as she was jumpscared by a phantom jumping right at her with a terrifyingly large toothy grin that she knew would put any and every horror game jumpscare to shame. Kaia's headlamp was the only thing that stopped it from completely lunging at them as she stumbled back, a yell leaving her lips in unison with Ashlyn. "Holy shit!"
Ashlyn gripped her flashlight tighter in her hands as she flashed it at them, they all flinch back as their bodies morph horrifyingly at the touch of her light. The group is forced back to back as the phantoms begin to surround them as they crawl in from the window.
"... Well this is intense." Aiden muttered out, Kaia sighing at his words, though she ignored them as she grabbed her flashlight off her hip and handed it to Ashlyn so she could dual wield them just as Aiden was doing behind them since Kaia still had her head lamp on.
"O- Okay... Let's just stay in a circle while slowly walking towards the jeep." Ashlyn tells them as she glanced around nervously at the mass amount of phantoms around them. "Me and Aiden will keep watch of the ceiling, and you guys cover all other angles."
The group listens with Kaia and Ashlyn taking the lead with Ben walking backwards behind with while the twins cover their sides. As they make their way down the stairs, Kaia stops dead in her step as horror consumes her at the sight below her. The living room was filled head to toe in an uncountable number of those phantoms. "Oh my god..."
"... You've got to be kidding me." Tyler choked out as he stared in similar fear at the sight below them.
"We'll be okay, just keep formation." Kaia reassures both herself and the others as she starts down the stairs first, the others following wordlessly after her. The group fell into a terrified silence as they continued their way slowly through the living room, everyone too concentrated on making sure they were covered from every angle to actually speak.
As they made their way outside the door, Ben closing it shakily behind him and Aiden, Logan's voice rung through the walkie talkie. "Guys, there are phantoms on the rood, be careful!"
Kaia's body shook as she breathed in, she could feel Ashlyn shaking as well on her back and judging by how the lights from either side of her were wobbling, she could only assume the others were as well. They moved slowly out from under the porch as Aiden handled the ones on the roof.
Taylor unlocks the car door as she climbs in through the passenger to get to the front seat as Kaia gets Ashlyn in the car first as Ben and Tyler handle holding the phantoms off with the flashlights. Aiden gets in next and Kaia follows after him and Kaia jumps at the banging on the roof as her eyes widen in terror at the fact she quickly realized they were on the roof. Though before she knew it, the sound of a gunshot fired off as Logan shot them off.
"Get in!" Taylor tearfully commands the other two, who comply quickly and as soon as they do, the windows burst in from all sides with the phantoms attempting to get at them as Kaia is forced to move into Aiden's lap in order for them to all be out of reach from the clawing hands of the phantoms.
Aiden grips at her waist, his other hand coming up to shield her head as Taylor slams on the acceleration and the car swerves off towards the graveyard as Kaia screams, holding onto Tyler's seat as Aiden clings to her waist in order to have some grip. Kaia could feel her body begin to shake at the high speed of the car racing along the grass. She tightened her grip on the seat, her breathing going heavy as she slammed her eyes shut.
"Logan, go press the button!" Ashlyn commands through the walkie talkie as she gripped tightly at Taylor's chair.
"O-Okay!" He responds, getting up and racing towards the entrance. He opens it just in time for them to rush through and he quickly closes it behind them just as the car skids to a stop in the middle of the graveyard.
They pushed the doors open, Kaia quickly rushing out the moment it was open as she leans against the car, her body still shaking heavily as she blinked back the black spots that threatened to overtake her vision. She felt like she was going to throw up, that or completely breakdown in sobs.
"Is... Everyone okay?" Taylor shakily questions.
"I'm gonna be sick." Tyler gagged out, clenching his stomach with one arm, his other hand covering his mouth in order to hold back the bile that threatened to leave his lips. But that didn't help as he threw up and as soon as he did, Kaia threw up as well, it was better than crying.
Aiden hopped quickly over to her side, grabbing her hair and pulling it out of her face, patting her back as she gagged out the last of her throw up. He grinned at her as she panted, he was leaning against the car for support, which allowed him the strength to be able to support her body as well as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. His smile slightly faded as he felt her shake against his body, but he glanced around, choosing to not comment on it right now. She wouldn't answer if he asked if she was okay. "you feel better?"
"Not really..." Kaia muttered out, her body leaning against his, not having the strength to pull away just yet as she wiped her mouth. She breathed out heavily as she blinked rapidly in an attempt to push back any of the emotions that threatened to overtake her from the rough car ride that they had just taken. "I get motion sick easy." She lied in order to cover up for herself and he stared down at her, watching as she refused to make eye contact with him and he knew she was lying, but he just smiled and allowed her to.
"We did it..." Taylor whispered out in complete shock as she stared down at the key in her hand before a smile quickly beamed across her gorgeous features, pumping her fist into the air, her other arm wrapped around Ashlyn's waist to hold her up. "We did it! Haha!"
Tyler grins as he wiped his bile from his lips as well. "Yeah... We're pretty great, huh?"
Aiden grinned, wrapping his other arm around her as he pulled her into a hug. "Great??" He laughed out, pulling away from her as she couldn't help but smile up at him, pushing her previous thoughts to the side. "We were awesome!"
"What do you mean 'we'?" Tyler grinned towards him teasingly, not having that same annoyed edge to his features as the glory of their win was still fresh in his mind. "You sprained your ankle and were basically useless from the get-go."
"I was not!" Aiden laughed back as his arm stayed wrapped around Kaia's shoulder, she didn't push it off, she felt like if his touch left her in that moment, she'd crumble. "Did you see me dual wielding those flashlights!? Without me and Ash, you guys wouldn't have stood a chance against those ceiling phantoms."
To his utter surprise, Kaia let out a laugh from under his arm, his heart speeding up at the enchanting sound that echoed in his ears. "Alright, we have to give credit where it's due, you did protect us pretty well from those ceiling phantoms."
Aiden's face erupted into a bright red blush as she turned, joyful blue meeting flustered red as she smiled so beautiful up at him. His stomach churned, ears ringing as he smiled back down at her. "Yeah... I did do pretty well, didn't I?"
Kaia nodded, "you did great."
Aiden had never been one to love praise so much before, sure he liked it whenever it was given to him, which wasn't all that often, but something about such sweet words falling from her graceful lips made his stomach explode in a feeling he's never felt so strongly before. Sure he's felt it around her on multiple occasions, the most notable ones being the first time they met, and when she smiled at him when they went to that playground a month ago. But this time it was far stronger than any of those times. It felt like his insides were glowing and he was about to throw up or cry, he couldn't tell which one.
He gulped, turning his attention away from Kaia, despite wanting nothing more than to keep his eyes on her beautiful smile for the rest of his life. What was he feeling? Why was his heart beating so fast in his chest? Why was his face so red? He looked back at her, finding that Kaia's eyes hadn't moved from his and he felt realization wash over him.
He liked Kaia.
He looked away from her as his entire face flushed red and Kaia blinked as she noticed, her stomach churning within her as he couldn't keep eye contact with her all of a sudden. Her smile faded a bit, but she choose to ignore it as she didn't bother to move his arm off her shoulder as she turned her attention towards Logan, "thanks for the save back there, by the way, Logan."
Logan looked up from the ground, shock overtaking his features as Kaia gave him a genuine smile for the first time. "What...?"
"You saved me from that phantom that was about to get me, back on the roof?" She questioned, trying to jog his memory as Aiden pushing his thoughts to the side beside her and grins brightly once again.
"Yeah, you were pretty cool too!" He chuckled as he pulled Kaia closer to him as he used the arm he had wrapped around her as a 'fake gun', pressing his two fingers to his head. "That phantom was about to attack Kaia and you put a hole right in the middle of it's head! Perfect shot!"
Kaia rolled her eyes, pushing away from his. "Dude, you need a shower, desperately." She gagged out as his stench had finally hit her after he had practically forced her face into his armpit. She was just growing fine with his arm around her, then he ruined it by smelling like complete B.O.
Aiden laughed as he stared at her happily, not caring about her insulting comment as he watched as she took her hair out of her ponytail, her hair cascading down her shoulders and down her back beautifully as it fell pin straight as it always did. Her hair never seemed to curl, she complained about it on multiple occasions, but no matter what she did, nothing stuck so she gave in to embracing her naturally straight hair as there was nothing she could do about it. He thought it was beautiful, he thought she was beautiful, but even that word didn't do the justice she deserved.
"I can actually agree on that." Tyler suddenly spoke up and Aiden turned towards him with shock written on his features, about to say something before he realized that Tyler was staring towards Logan and not him. "He also took out the phantom that cornered me and Ben. Honestly we probably wouldn't all be here without him."
Nods were shared among the group and Logan's cheeks flushed red as his hands shot up, waving in front of him. "U-Uh not really- you guys did most of the work..."
"Stop." Tyler cuts him off, his arms crossing over his chest. "You've barely had any experience with a gun outside of Aiden's air soft, which I doubt comes anywhere close to the real thing. You should be proud."
Taylor smiles softly at him from her place, still holding Ashlyn up. "They're right, Logan, You're really talented!"
"We should do something to celebrate!" Aiden grinned as he rested his elbow on Kaia's shoulder, which she allowed as she knew he was having trouble balancing on his own.
Taylor smiled at his idea, before her eyes glanced down at Ashlyn and frowned in concern. "Ashlyn, are you okay?" At her question, Kaia's head turned away from Aiden's in an instant as she turned to look at Ashlyn, who had her head bowed. "You haven't said anything, do you need to sit down?"
"... No." Ashlyn shook her head, looking up at them with a smile and flushed cheeks as she lets out a chuckle. "I'm alright." Kaia felt her own smile widen at the sight, seeing Ashlyn smile wasn't a first time for her, but it was still a rather rare occurrence. "Just a little...dizzy-"
Kaia's smile dropped as Ashlyn fainted, the other's in the group as well as they jolted in shock at the sight, "Ashlyn!"
♡˗ˏ✎*ೃ˚ : author's note
i. kaia and aiden this chapter>> also violent kaia>
ii. what was your guys favorite moment this chapter?
iii. ANYWAYS i hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!! please remember to vote, comment and to have a wonderful day!!