0036. ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST
KAIA GASPED AWAKE, coughing up blood as her surroundings were beyond blurry. Her body was shaking as her head pounded, her hands attempted to grip at the ground beside her, but she felt it turn muddy under grip as her hand was incased with a thick liquid and she shakily pulled it up, her stomach churning as all she could see was red coating her hand.
She felt nauseous as she gagged at the sight, attempting to hold back the bile that was threatening to escape her throat as she didn't have the strength to roll over and knew that if she threw up now, she'd only choke on it and possibly die all over again. Then again, Kaia felt dead still as her body was in a pain like she had never felt before. She could feel blood sweeping through her clothes, leaving her in a pool of her own blood as the dirt ground turned muddy mixing in with the liquid constantly leaking from her head and back side.
She couldn't believe how she was alive right then and there. She was bleeding out of early every part of her body, her head was swirling with pain, her vision was blurring as blood leaked into her eyes forcing her to shut them as she didn't hold the strength to reach up and wipe it out of them. She felt like she was dying all over again.
Her ears rung as she thinks she hears footsteps coming her way and she just barely held the strength to turn her head, hope filling her chest that the others had reached her in time, but her hope was quickly shut down upon catching sight of seemed to be multiple phantoms brushing through the bushes, or maybe it was just one and Kaia was completely out of it as her vision seemed like it was doubling and tripling as her eyes widen in compete horror at the sight and her vision was tinted red from the blood leaking into her eyes.
She froze, attempting to lay completely still, which wasn't that hard of a task considering she barely had any strength in that moment. If that thing spotted her, she wasn't quite sure how she could survive it. Though luck was most certainly not on her side in that moment as it turned it's head, it's beady white eyes falling onto her collapsed figure and Kaia knew that she was going to die again if she couldn't find some strength within her to get up in that moment.
It began to rush at her and Kaia's eyes widen in horror, still unsure if it was just one or if it was multiple with her blurred-double seeing vision. She gritted her teeth together, forcing herself to roll over as a scream of utter pain left her lips as every part of her body felt as though it was lit aflame from the pain that erupted through her. She forced herself to her hands and knees, a sob leaving her lips as she just barely dodged a hit from the phantom, it's foot landing in her stomach sending her flying back from the unexpected strength of it.
Kaia screamed again as her back hit a tree, and her vision blurred black and she barely had a moment to react before the phantom was on her again, going to tackle her as she just barely managed to grab it's wrists, fighting against it as it snapped its teeth at her face. Kaia sobbed as she let out another scream, feeling it's claws digging into her wrists and up the back of her hands. She wasn't sure how she even had the strength to fight back against this thing but Kaia knew that she couldn't die in that moment. She had to stay alive, Kaia couldn't die, she had to live to see the others, to see this plan through, to see Aiden.
She pushed back against the phantom, her entire body screaming at her to stop and give into the death that the phantom seemed to be offering her, the easy way out, but Kaia refused. She gritted her teeth, tears pooling in her eyes as she pushed it back, her blurry vision just barely catching sight of a sharp looking tree branch feet away and knew what she had to do to survive.
Kaia's body shook under the immense pressure of the phantom, her legs just barely having the strength to push themselves up and into the stomach of the phantom with enough force to send it rolling off of her, though not very far. Kaia was running on pure adrenaline and a overwhelming need to survive as her teeth grit, her eyes narrowing into the branch as she rolled, pain rushing up her entire body that she ignored as she made a move to grab what she thought was the branch, though missing a couple times as she hit the blurred clones of it and finally grasped it within her hands.
Kaia yelled, turning her body around with pain encasing her whole as she swung the branch with everything she had left in her. It pierced its open mouth that was grinning widely, ready to take a bite at her just before the branch split through the back of it's mouth and through the back of it's head.
Kaia shook under the weight of it, quickly dropping her hold on the stick and moving to the side, slipping on her own blood as she tumbled to the ground, her chin bashing against a rock as she cried out in pain, having bit her tongue from the harsh hit. Kaia sobbed out in pain as she crawled away from the now dead phantom. The others needed to hurry, Kaia couldn't do this on her own, she thought to herself just before her vision blurred and she passed out again.
The next time she awoke, she was being carried in the arms of a familiar warm presence and Kaia couldn't do anything but push herself more into them as his grip on her tightened upon her movement. Aiden looked down, relief flooding his gaze upon seeing Kaia's eyes flutter weakly open.
"Morning sleeping beauty." He muttered out softly as he smiled softly down at her as the group made their way through the school. "We just got to the school, we're safe for now." He tells her as he pulls her closer to him, carrying her princess style. "Tyler's safe with us as well, Ben has him."
Kaia hummed back, not having the strength to reply fully as she laid her head upon his shoulder. Kaia was still in immeasurable pain, but she can only guess that the sedative was numbing it by a lot considering her vision was slightly fixed up and she could see more clearly than she previously could before.
Ashlyn turned around upon hearing Aiden's voice and her eyes widen at the sight of Kaia's eyes meeting her own. "Kaia..." She muttered out, the entire group stopping as they had previously just thought Aiden was talking to Kaia's unconscious body again, which he had been doing since they had finally found he laying in a pool of h own blood with a phantom dead beside her. It was safe to say that the entire group had ever felt more fear yet respect and awe towards the girl upon realizing that despite just dying, she had the strength to somehow kill the phantom, which almost half of them didn't have with full strength. "You're awake..."
Kaia coughed, nodding her head slowly, not having much strength to do much else as Aiden pulled her closer, adjusting his grip on her as he held her up higher.
"How.." She muttered out, she had given Kaia an entire syringe of sedative, not to mention she was previously passed out from the mass amount of blood she had just lost, she couldn't figure out just how the girl in Aiden's arms was awake. It shouldn't be possible. Then again, Kaia had also just proved the impossible by killing a phantom while on the verge of death, so maybe Ashlyn shouldn't be betting against her so easily. "Never mind, I'm glad you're awake, Kai..." She whispered as she stepped closer, pressing a hand to the girl's forehead and frowned at the burning of her skin that she knew was from the head injury that Kaia had just indured and most likely worsened by moving so much to kill the phantom.
Kaia mustered the weakest smile she could, her eyes fluttering open and close as she struggled to stay awake within Aiden's arms. They were at the school meaning they wee going through with the plan Ben's father had come up with.
Ashlyn smiled softly back at her, relief clinging to her chest. She had been terrified upon seeing Kaia's broken form crumbled over in a pool of red. She had never been more horrified than she had been when she slipped on the mushy ground, hitting it and realizing her hands were coated red with Kaia's blood fertalizing the ground around her.
She gulped, a frown twitching at her lips as she looked away from the girl, not being able to look at her long before the sight of her from earlier flashed through her mind and she felt like throwing up all over again. "How much further?" Ashlyn questioned, attempting to change the subject as she looked towards Taylor, who was leading the way.
"Down this hallway and a couple more classrooms down." Taylor replies as her eyes were drawn ahead of them.
The area around them suddenly grew darker and Kaia blinked furiously as her head lulled back in Aiden's arms and her breath got caught in her throat at the horrifying sight of the creature peering into the window. "Oh.." She coughed out and everyone's attention turned towards the window, their eyes widening in similar horror.
Ashlyn reacted without thinking, her first instinct to protect Kaia as she ripped the girl from Aiden's arms and into her own. "Run!" She screamed as she took off into a sprint and the others quickly following after her. She stumbles as screams erupted into her ears and Aiden appeared at her side, holding her up and making sure that she didn't fall nor drop Kaia.
From behind them, Logan spun around on his heel, pulling his hand gun from his waist as he knew that the group wouldn't be fast enough to get away from this creature in time as he shot multiple shots towards the creature, hitting it in the eye. "It's left eye is out!" He called out to the others as they all stop upon seeing Taylor suddenly spin around, rushing back as she yanked the gun from Logan's back.
Kaia could barely process the turn of events, her ears ringing and her head pounding at all of the sudden action.
"Taylor, what are you doing?!" Ashlyn screamed, her grip on Kaia tightening further as Aiden steps closer to the two girls.
"Keep shooting." Taylor commanded with such viciousness in her tone that the other's barely recognized it as her own. "We need to injure it as much as we can."
Logan hesitated for a mere moment before quickly following the command as the two began to rapidly shoot at it, seemingly causing major damage to it as it began to slump.
Aiden took Kaia from Ashlyn's arms again as he slowly lowered both Ashlyn and Kaia to the ground as Kaia leaned back onto him while Ashlyn forced her soundproof headphones over her ears, one hand pushing the earmuff more over her ear and the other gripping at Kaia, pushing her further back into Aiden. Aiden had one arm wrapped around Kaia, the other pressing his hand to the other earmuff Ashlyn was missing as she held Kaia with it.
"...Yeah, uh- Tay, it stopped moving." Aiden called out upon seeing it slump over, no longer responding as Kaia's eyes narrowed, her vision still slightly blurry as she couldn't tell if Taylor was shaking or if it was Kaia's vision playing tricks on her as the girl lowered the gun.
"We need to hurry in case it recovers." Logan warns her as he reaches out, placing his hand over her own, taking it in his grasp.
"Where are they?!" Taylor questioned desperately as she rummaged around the office alongside the others. "Coach must've moved them again!"
Kaia groaned from her placed laid out beside Tyler on the couch in the coach's room. Ben was rewrapping both hers and Tyler's bandages as the two of them were quickly bleeding through the previous ones. Tyler hadn't woken up yet, unlike Kaia who seemingly couldn't get herself to fall back asleep as she wanted nothing more than to just sleep through the horrible pain she was in but she was rejected when she asked for another dose of sedative.
"Does he move them often?" Ashlyn questioned as she rummaged through the coach's desk.
"Yeah, because idiots like Jay and Conner keep messing with them!" She groaned out in complete frustration and Kaia had no clue about who in the hell Taylor was complaining about.
"I feel a minor sense of deja-vu." Aiden says as he twirled his knife around as he was stood guard at the door in order to make sure that they weren't snuck up on.
"...We have three minutes left." Logan calls out as he checks the timer on his phone.
"Aiden, there's a straggler." Ashlyn called out upon her ears suddenly ringing.
"Yeah, I can hear it running." Aiden waves her warning off as he smiles just before swinging his hand around, stabbing it in the face, quickly killing it. "Got it!"
Kaia nearly smiled at the sound of his upbeat tone filling her vision as her eyes fluttered shut and open, her head constantly drifting between consiousness and unconsiousness.
"Are there any more?" Ashlyn questioned him as she could still hear phantom noise ringing within her ears.
Aiden hummed at her question, poking his head out to the hallway, looking around. "I can't see any?" He responses just before the building rumbled and any semblence of amusement faded instantnly from Kaia as she was forced off of the couch, grunting as she hit the ground, Ben just barely catching her. "Woah?!"
Kaia's vision blurred as pain shot through her as she coculd see the roof beginning to crack above them and she sucked in a breath of complete horror as Ashlyn shouted, "everyone get under something!" As she grabbed Kaia, pulling her under the desk with her, but Kaia couldn't tear her gaze away from Aiden as the cieling began to crumble down.
"Aiden..." Kaia mumbled out, her body moving on it's own, adenaline once again filling her as she felt a strength like no other fill her as she pushed herself from Ashlyn's grip. "Aiden!" She screamed out in complete horror, stumbling as the building continued to rumble and the roof caved in on top of him. "Aiden!" She screamed again, crumbling to her knees where she could see his body peaking out from the rumble and pushing it aside as Ashlyn joined her, helping her push the roof off of him. "Aiden..." She muttered out, tears filling her vision as se sees his bloodied form and she feels herself freeze.
She couldn't move as it felt like her entire world crumbled around her, not just the roof. She couldn't force herself to reach out and touch him, far too scared he'd be cold to the touch and Kaia would be hit with the realization he was actually gone. Her vision was once again blurry, but it was with her own tears as she could feel someone yank her away from him as someone grabbed Aiden as well. She couldn't hear a word being yelled around her, her gaze completely drawn to Aiden as Ashlyn pulled her under the desk and quickly pulled Aiden under with them.
Kaia's hands shook as they wrapped around Aiden, pulling him closer to her as the roof caved in around them yet Kaia could not draw her eyes away from Aiden's still form. She couldn't care less about anything else in that moment but him, the world could have crumbled and she wouldn't have cared all she could focus on was the unfamiliar coldness that radiated from his body that shouldn't have been possible for such a warm hearted person like Aiden.
She suddenly felt a hand grip tightly at her pounding head and her gaze flickered off of Aiden's bleach blond hair and in one horrifying moment, blue met black and Kaia felt like she died all over again.
♡˗ˏ✎*ೃ˚ : author's note
i. i couldn't resist updating twice because i needed this chapter out and i needed it out in this moment because i just couldn't wait till tmr to post it
ii. i heart kaia still being a badass even though she literally just fucking died
iii. i also heart aiden and ashlyn taking care of kaia to the best of their abilities
iiii. what was your guys favorite moment this chapter?
iiiii. ANYWAYS i hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! please remember to vote, comment and to have a wonderful day <333