After Gabriel acquainted himself with everyone, Kai felt himself drift off again. The next thing he knew, it was dark and everyone else was sleeping.

Confused, he shook out his hands and leaned away from the wall. He'd somehow fallen asleep with his arms crossed over his chest while he was leaning on the wall of the cave.

After his eyes adjusted, he noticed a patch of blackberries and a small bowl of water made from Light magic. Shintaro must have been awake then, because Kai didn't know how he would keep that bowl there if he wasn't.

"Good, you're up," Shintaro's voice said, confirming Kai's last thought. "Eat something. You wouldn't wake up, so I assumed you were tired. I left you alone." The man was sitting against the other cave wall, his arms crossed and strange yellow eyes trained on Kai. 

Kai was about to say that he wasn't hungry, to let Shintaro eat, because he probably had left all the food for everyone else, but his stomach growled loudly before he could open his mouth. Embarrassed, he fumbled for words. 

Shintaro chuckled. "Just eat it." He waved one hand at the blackberries. 

Kai shook his head. "Have you eaten yet? I'm... not eating until I know that you have." He crossed his arms, too, mimicking Shintaro's frown.

"Yes, I've eaten."

"You'd better be telling me the truth," Kai said, but gently. He leaned forward and took some blackberries, watching them squish in between his fingers. 

Thank goodness they're not raspberries, he thought. I hate those. He popped a few in his mouth, feeling a bit awkward as Shintaro just sat there and watched him eat. Kai had to make conversation, even though he was never really good at that and Shintaro was not a man who did well with conversations. 

"How's your shoulder?" Shintaro said, startling Kai a little. He'd made the conversation, which was a little better than Kai attempting to and saying something that was probably going to be terribly lame.

"It's... It still hurts," Kai admitted. "Kind of a lot, sometimes. But I'll be fine. I can go until we find a shelter." He shrugged as though to prove his point. 

Shintaro's head turned, and Kai watched him assess Gabriel again. "So he's a childhood friend of Linda's?"

Kai nodded. "His foot is broken, I think." He swiped his dark hair out of his eyes to get a better view of Gabriel's foot.

Shintaro nodded, but didn't say anything else. 

So much for conversation, Kai thought. 

~

The next morning, Kai woke up to a painful throb in his shoulder. It was worse than usual, so he wondered if he'd slept on it funny. When he sat up, the edges of his vision went black. He groaned and touched his head lightly, closing his eyes. He took a deep breath through his nose and let it out through his mouth. 

"Are you okay, Kai?" Abby's voice said behind him, and for some reason, Kai felt a shiver run down his spine when she said his name. 

He turned around to face her. She was sitting crisscross beside her father with her hands set delicately on each thigh. She tipped her head at him, her blonde hair bobbing as she moved her head.

"I'm... I'm fine," Kai said. He didn't want to worry her or make her feel bad. Or seem like a burden. He would fight through the pain until he didn't have to. Being a burden was always something he hated, so he tried to keep things to himself in order to keep others happy and less stressed. 

Abby narrowed her eyes at him, but somehow it didn't seem threatening or rude. It just seemed like she doubted him, but her face was somehow still sweet and kind. "Are you sure?" Indeed, her voice was skeptical, but in a concerned way. 

Kai nodded, trying to smile. It didn't work very well, but at least it was a small one. "Thank you, but I'm alright." He touched his shoulder lightly, hiding his wince, then sat up straight and moved his eyes to Chase.

The older boy was sprawled on his back, his arms and legs stretched out around him. His shoulder length white hair pooled around his head. His mouth was closed in a tight line, and his eyes seemed to be tightly shut. 

"He has nightmares often," Abby murmured softly. "It started ever since our uncle died. He was the nicest man. He looked almost just like Dad, just with bigger eyes and a more... frail body. The reason he and mom got along so well is because they both had frail statures. But Uncle Cami's was worse. He... died unexpectedly in his sleep when he was over at our house once. Chase... was the one to find out. He went downstairs to wake him up for breakfast... and found Uncle Cami dead." Her voice broke off into a small, barely audible whimper. 

"That's... terrible," Kai said quietly. "I can understand why he has nightmares. I'm sorry." He wanted so badly to reach out and hug her, to pull her close and tell her that it was okay. To comfort her and let her know that they would get through this. To let her know that they would find someplace to stay, and that they possibly would find their parents. Maybe her mother was still alive.

But Kai resisted that urge very firmly. In fact, so firmly that he bit down on his tongue until it hurt. Wincing, he looked back over at Chase to hide his flushing cheeks. He was NOT in love with Abby. He COUDN'T be. 

... But he really was. 

Everything about her was amazing. How she was sweet, loving, caring, and kind in the midst of terror and trouble. How she always had a smile dancing on her face. How she kept her big, blue eyes trained for anyone who was hurting and comforted them with all of her power. How she was so tiny and cute, and how her face was rounded. How her hands were so small, small enough that he could wrap his whole hand around hers. How she didn't express her pain and instead looked out for other's. How she was selfless to a point where she would worry about other people instead of herself, even when something was happening to her. 

And he only had known Abby for a little bit. He was geeking over her this much?! His father would either laugh or scold him. His mother would geek out with him, now that he thought about it. She was almost just like Abby... Sweet and selfless and kind. 

Maybe that was why Kai liked her so much. She reminded him of her mother, but he loved Abby differently. 

What is WRONG WITH ME?!

~

Here is chapter twenty-four! I hope y'all enjoy!!! 

Gabriel is actually a character that my sister made up. At first he was meant to be introduced as Linda's boyfriend, but we changed that up and made him a childhood friend. I THIIIIIIIIIINK I may make them together sometime soon, though..... *evil laugh* 

Y'all, Cami was also my sister's idea. He wasn't invented until a LONG time after we made up our characters. She made him up and I was like "Ooh I like this guy" so I remembered him while writing THIS chapter and was like "Sure I'll make him ded"

Prepare for SO MUCH MORE TRAUMA. 

... 

To be honest, I'm scared of myself. 

I'm too into trauma. 

EEGH.

Peace out!!~~~