Kai woke the next morning extremely sore. His neck, shoulders, and back hurt too much to move at first, but soon he could sit up. He reached up and rubbed his shoulder, trying to remember everything that had happened after they named the wolf. He had been too tired to really pay attention to anything, but it soon came back to him.

After Shintaro had gained enough strength to heal Komakii's leg, the group had gotten the wolf to his paws and began moving again. What they had just experienced had showed them that they needed to find a shelter, no matter what. 

Kai had reluctantly gotten to his feet, feeling pain wash over his shoulder again. Abby had noticed and helped him get going. Kai had thanked her gratefully, and the rest flew by in a haze. Komakii had hung by Kai's side the whole time, whining whenever Kai's eyelids began to droop. There was one point where he had had to bark to keep Kai from stumbling. 

Kai really did like the wolf. He was loyal and sweet, but protective and guarding. His eyes were sharp and aware, and they reminded Kai of Shintaro's eyes. They were fierce and protecting, but their color reminded him of Luke's. 

Finally, Luke had said that there was a cave ahead of them. Kai was the first to go inside, and that's when he had crashed. 

Komakii startled Kai out of his revere by licking his hand. Kai smiled down at the wolf and pet his head, earning a delighted tail wag. Kai continued to pet the wolf as he scanned his group of friends that he'd made.

Shintaro. A fearsome man who was the enemy of the darks. Very protective of his friends and family. A rather stern and grumpy man, but really sweet when he wanted to be. Someone Kai really looked up to, even though he'd met this man not long ago. Someone who had gone through lots of pain and suffering, Kai could tell just by the way he acted and looked. 

Chase. A kind-hearted, noble young boy who did anything he could for others. His care for others was something that Kai wished he had, and something Kai admired greatly. Kai strived to be selfless by not being a burden to others, but sometimes he felt that wasn't enough. Chase was a perfect example of a selfless person. Even though he was not okay, he made sure others were before himself. He had so many things going on inside him, like his father. He just didn't talk about them for the same reason as Kai - he probably didn't want to be a burden.

Linda. A gruff and sarcastic woman, but sometimes that was good. She was tough and stern to Kai, but that taught him when she needed it to. She really was a very kind person on the inside, but Kai also noticed that she wasn't the greatest socializer. That was nothing to be ashamed about, but he figured Linda scolded herself for that. She missed her family terribly, and was happy when she found Gabriel. She was also very protective and smart.

Luke. A shy, self-conscious man who was ashamed of whom he was before. Kai could see it in his eyes - he hated himself and tried desperately to make up for the wrongs he did. He felt guilty about hurting and killing all those people, and honestly, Kai would too. The younger boy could understand why Luke was so shy and sad and tired all the time. Nightmares probably haunted his sleep. But all the while, Luke was as kind-hearted as Chase. He put others' needs before his own. Kai knew that even though he hadn't known Luke for long. Luke was Shintaro's best friend, which helped him a lot, since Shintaro was a stern leader.

Gabriel. Just as antisocial - probably more - than Linda. He was a stern, gruff man too, but he was also pretty nice. Under that gruff scowl was a kind young man. Kai also suspected he had feelings for Linda, just didn't say it. Then again, Linda probably knew already.

And Abby. Kai felt like he couldn't describe her any greater than he had before. She was kind, caring, selfless, and sweet. Just like her brother, but seemingly a lot more. She always had a smile on her face, no matter what the situation. She saw the bright side in almost everything, and made friends very fast. She was always concerned for others' well-being instead of her own, and she loved to teach Kai about doctor things that she had learned from her father. Kai hadn't yet seen this "sickly" side of her, but he hoped he didn't have to. She was such a strong girl, if she was even sickly. Kai could hardly believe that she was, she was so kind, happy, bouncy, and strong. She was just someone he knew he'd never meet again.

Kai found himself staring at Abby as she stroked Komakii and looked away quickly, flustered. He scolded himself mentally, then turned to Chase, who was leaning up against the wall with his eyes trained on this ceiling. Next to him, his father was doing the same, but he was asleep. Kai wondered with a sigh how anyone could learn to sleep that way.

Chase saw Kai watching him and gave the younger boy a smile of reassurance. Kai smiled back, but Chase didn't see it. He suddenly squeezed his eyes closed with a gasp. Shintaro's eyes popped open, and he leaned forward abruptly. 

"What?" Kai said fearfully, eyeing the father and son. "What's wrong?" He pushed his legs under him and his body screamed in protest. Ignoring, he stood up and walked over to Chase and Shintaro. 

Chase was gritting his teeth, and Shintaro was pushing himself to his feet too. He grabbed Kai's arm and shoved him backward with brute strength, startling the younger boy. 

"What's going on?" Linda asked from beside him, watching as Kai stumbled back, confused.

Chase let out a little whimper, and his father whipped around to face him. 

Abby stood up too. "Chase? What's wrong?" She walked over to Shintaro and her brother, but like he had done with Kai, Shintaro took his daughter by the arms and pushed her back toward Kai, who caught her quickly as she stumbled a little. 

Shintaro knelt down in front of his son. He said something unheard and touched Chase's shoulder. The teenager flinched back and rested his head on the wall behind him with gritted teeth. His eyes remained closed as Shintaro raised his voice a little bit, enabling Kai to hear what he was saying. 

"Chase, what is it?" he said quietly. "What are they doing to you? They're not that close, because I'm obviously not feeling what you are." When he got no response, he put his other hand on Chase's shoulder and shook him slightly. "Hey." 

Kai stepped forward again, but Linda put her hand on his chest to stop him. When he turned to eye her in confusion, she glared at him with a furrowed brow and a tight jaw. Her hands were clenched, too, making Kai wonder even more what was going on. 

"Seriously," Gabriel said from the corner. "What the heck is happening?" 

Shintaro's head suddenly snapped up, and at the same time, Chase let out a yell of pain. Kai jumped forward, shoving Linda's hand off himself. He knelt down beside his friend as Shintaro jumped to his feet once more. 

"Hush," Shintaro demanded firmly, his voice low. He eyed the entrance of the cave with an angry look, then moved forward a few steps to peek out. 

"Chase, what's wrong?" Kai whispered as quietly as he could. 

Chase didn't reply, only clenched his hands and brought his knees up to his chest, resting his head on his legs. Kai noticed with a twinge of pain that his Light magic was swirling, but it also felt strange. 

"Well, well," said a voice by the cave mouth. "Look what we have here, friends. Looks like we found our targets." 

Kai whipped around to find six men in the SWAT looking suits, but their helmets were gone and they wore smug grins. They all had red eyes and angry yet smug looks. One of them held Shintaro firmly by the neck, and the man was struggling to get free. The man holding him was obviously using Dark magic, because Shintaro was losing force in each kick. 

"Let's get goin', then," the one holding Shintaro said, then they all advanced forward. Kai yelped and grabbed Chase. 

"Don't touch them!" Abby cried, earning herself a slap on the face a moment later. 

Yelling in anger, Kai stood up, but Chase grabbed his arm with the force of a mountain and screamed at the top of his lungs. His eyes were open now, but he was staring at the ceiling again. He pulled Kai down and screamed again. 

The man holding Shintaro laughed and laughed as Shintaro gasped and struggled to get to his yelling son, but with no prevail. 

Kai whipped his head to the left and found one of the men hauling an unconscious Abby over his shoulder. Linda was forcing a man aside to get to Kai, but with one clap on the side of the head, she was out too. Luke had already made it past the other five men, and was towering toward the one holding his friend. 

Gabriel jumped to his feet and rushed toward the man who was struggling to get Linda up onto his shoulders. He brought his fist up, but the man caught it and twisted his arm painfully, then hit him on the side of the head too. 

Luke was shouting something loud and angry at the man holding Shintaro, but Kai wasn't paying attention. He was trying to get Chase to calm down, but he wouldn't stop screaming, and it was scaring Kai. Thoughts of people screaming in their cells at night (this actually happened) filled his head, and he shook them away. 

Luke was screaming at the man at the top of his lungs now, waving his arms and trying to get the man to let go of Shintaro. He said something without hesitation about being that man's leader, but the man only laughed. 

"Our leader is dead, you coward," said the man, chuckling to a stop. "You're just the man he was using. You were his killing machine, and you know it. So get lost, because you're no longer needed." 

This hit Luke hard, Kai could tell. He stood there silent for a moment, then something inside him seemed to snap. He yelled in anger and did some cool spin-around-once-then-kick-the-guy-in-the-face-move. He dropped to his knees beside Shintaro after the man had fallen backward. 

Shintaro stood back up immediately, not caring to catch his breath. He dashed over to Chase, knelt down beside him, but couldn't do anything before the man was back and pulling him away. 

Luke screamed in anger again, this time running toward the cave wall, jumping off it, and bringing his heel down on the man's head. All three of them went tumbling, and Kai watched Luke kick the man in the stomach and Shintaro struggle to his feet again. 

The man that Luke was beating up suddenly got bored of the fight, or something like that, because out of his hand came a Dark sword, something he could have used earlier. Just moments before he drove it down onto Luke's back, something hit Kai's head, and the last thought Kai had before he fell unconscious was I hope that man missed. 

~

Here is chapter twenty-nine! I'm so excited, the next chapter is going to be FREAKING THIRTY!! ahakthakjshdkajthajtkh!!!

I can't wait for you guys to read this whole thiiiiiiing! Y'all are going to love it!! 

But now that Thorn is gone, where do you think the Darks are going to take them? Do you guys think Thorn is really gone, or do you think he'll come back? Could I bring in another villain-person? 

I really wanna hear you guys' theories! Please feel free to comment anything you want to! Encouragement, something I missed, something I should work on, or maybe something you think you've figured out! 

Enjoy the rest of this book!!

Peace!!~~