Kai was looking down. He couldn't see exactly what he was looking at, but his head was tipped down. He realized that his hands were clenched, and began to shake them out, but whatever his eyes were glued to came into view. The little girl's father was lying on his back, a large pool of blood surrounding him. His eyes were open and staring back up at Kai mysteriously. Kai tried to open his mouth, to step back, to do something, but all he could do was stare. He felt a shiver run down his spine as the man stared endlessly up at him.

Then he could move. As soon as he figured out that he could, his legs carried him as far away from the man's body as they could. He lifted his hands to touch his face, but froze when he realized his hands were covered in blood. He screamed and jumped back like his hands were on fire. He shook his hands over and over, hoping that the blood would leave, but it stayed on his skin.

He squeezed his eyes shut, unsure of what else to do. He didn't want to touch anything, fearing that he would hurt someone else. That had to be why there was blood on his hands. He'd killed man, and now he was paying for it. 

Kai heard a voice whisper his name behind him. He opened his eyes and turned around, letting his hands fall to his sides. His brown eyes widened as he saw his father standing there, facing him with a frightened look. 

Falte looked behind him, at the man dead on the ground, then looked back at Kai with a betrayed look. "Why, Kai?" he asked in a small tone. 

Kai shook his head three times. "No, that's not..." He trailed off, knowing that he couldn't argue with his father. What was he even trying to do? There was no point in denying it. Falte was afraid of him, and now he was disappointed in his son, too. 

Falte took a step backward, holding his hands out as though Kai was readying to pounce at him. Kai reached out, to try to stop his father from leaving him. Falte couldn't leave him. Not after what he'd done. Not after his mother left. 

Kai's hands brushed Falte's chest as the man turned, but the next thing that occurred was heartbreaking enough to make Kai fall back with a scream. Right where Kai had touched formed a long, slash in his father's chest, immediately bleeding heavily. Falte threw his son one last look of hurt and betrayal, then collapsed forward. 

"NO!" Kai shouted, dropping to his knees next to his father. "No, no, no! Dad! Wait, you can't leave me... Please don't... I'm sorry..." His hands clutched at the bleeding wound, but that only seemed to make it worse. 

Frightened and upset, Kai stood and ran off blindly. He didn't care where he was going or who would try to stop him. He just ran until he slammed harshly into someone, knocking them backward.

Abby stood before him, but her whole body looked wrong. She had scars and bleeding wounds everywhere, and her blue eyes were filled with tears and pain. She fell backward and landed with a thud. Kai screamed again and turned to run the other way. 

This time he plowed into Shintaro. Thankfully, the man looked fine. He didn't look hurt anywhere, only confused and concerned. Kai felt his arms lift, and the next thing he knew, he was hugging Shintaro and crying like a five year old, but for once didn't care. He just wanted someone to tell him that it wasn't his fault, someone to tell him that everything was okay even though it wasn't. He wanted so badly to believe that, even though he knew he couldn't. 

Shintaro didn't say a word the whole time, but Kai soon realized that he wasn't even breathing. He pulled back from the man and looked up at his face. Shintaro's expression had changed completely from confusion and concern to anger, hatred, and betrayal, but he was staring off at the distance like he couldn't see anything else. 

"Shintaro?" Kai stammered. The man made no reaction. Kai waved a hand in front of his face. "Shintaro!" Again nothing. Kai felt fear, anger, confusion, and guilt twist in his gut. He backed away, turned around, and began running again. What was he even doing?

Kai finally stopped, his lungs screaming for air. He fell onto his knees, fighting back a sob that was bubbling up inside him. Tears blurred his vision to a point where he could hardly see. He rubbed at his eyes, but soon realized that he was getting blood all over his cheeks. He yanked his hands away as though he'd been touched by a filthy animal. He gasped for breath and looked up, expecting to find one of his friends lying dead in front of him.

Instead, Chase was standing over him. He lifted his hand and put it on Kai's head, then knelt down beside him. He met Kai's eyes and said something that Kai didn't hear, but he smiled reassuringly a moment after, so Kai assumed he was trying to comfort him.

Kai shuddered and wrapped his arms around him, closing his eyes. He let out a shaky sigh, then jumped when Chase's hand left his head. He looked back up again, finding Chase standing up again with an alert look.

Kai stood up as well, looking around. What was Chase seeing? When he looked back at Chase, something shot through the air, sinking right into Chase's chest. The older boy flinched back, his eyes going wide. Kai screamed at the top of his lungs, so loud that his throat began to sting, and -

- bolted upright quickly, studying himself with his arms under him. He gasped and gasped again, the vivid images never leaving his circle of thoughts. When he glanced around the room frantically, he noticed that he was still on the couch, and Abby was rubbing her eyes. Linda was already scrambling to her feet, her eyes wide. She skittered over to where Kai was lying, and a moment later, the light flicked on. 

Kai glanced around him again in confusion and fear, failing to find words. Falte was rushing toward him with a terrified look on his face, his hair a mess and his glasses not even on his nose. 

"What?!" he said frantically and worriedly to Kai, dropping down beside the couch. "What's wrong?!" 

Linda took Kai's hand with a wide-eyed look. She shook her head over and over, her eyes never leaving his. She shuddered, and Kai remembered that she could see dreams - that's what that was. A dream. It had all been a dream. Everyone was fine. Chase was alright.

Was Chase alright? Kai looked frantically around the room, but Chase wasn't there. Shintaro had somehow made it beside the couch before Kai had even woken up. 

"Kai?" Abby asked groggily. "What is it? Are you alright?" She yawned, then touched his hand. Kai eyed her with a shudder to make sure that there were no scars or open wounds on her body. 

Linda shook her head again. She couldn't find her words as she clutched the couch and shook her head several more times.

"Hey," Shintaro said harshly, taking Kai's chin and turning his head toward him. "Answer us, kid. Say something, at least. What happened?" 

What did happen? Kai wondered. Why are they all here and awake? Kai shook his head. He didn't want to answer right now. He was still trying to get rid of the image of Chase, Falte, and Abby falling over dead.

Finally, a word escaped his mouth. "Chase," he said, then said it again - "Chase." - his voice rising. "Chase, where is he? Where is he?" He repeated himself three more times, his voice reaching a hysteria pitch. "WHERE IS CHASE?" he finally yelled loud enough to snap Linda out of her daze. She jumped up and ran off into the hall. 

Kai was shaking, and even Abby's hug wouldn't stop him. He stared at Shintaro in desperation. Chase had to be alright. He had to be.

 Kai felt his body jerk without him even trying. He tried to escape from Abby's grip, but she held him firmly. She wasn't letting go, but Kai wasn't done trying. He jerked again and again, trying to raise his arms to throw her off. What if Chase needed him? 

Chase ran out of the hallway suddenly, making Kai's whole body relax. Chase was alright. He wasn't dead. No one else was dead. It really had been just a dream. Why had it felt so real at the end? What was this feeling of dread that he felt? He slumped back against the couch as Chase leaned down and touched his arm gently. 

"Are you alright?" he asked gently. He got down on one knee and gave Kai a knowing, comforting look. "Linda told me that you screamed in your sleep. Are you okay?" 

Kai couldn't speak anymore, so he shook his head. He didn't feel alright. He probably wasn't. There was always something bothering him, so why lie and say that he was okay? He knew he'd done it before, but he was tired of it now. He didn't even have the strength to lie anymore. 

Chase sighed and lowered his gaze with a small shake of his head. 

Falte stood up, then took a seat on Kai's other side. He wrapped his arms around Kai's lower body, rubbing his back in comfort. He put his chin on Kai's right shoulder, while Abby gently placed hers on his other. Chase squeezed his arm reassuringly, and Kai closed his eyes. His friends were here. 

He didn't want them to leave. So why did he have a strange feeling that the dream had been a warning? 

~

Here's the next chapter! I really am hoping that you guys enjoy my books. I love you all, and this is probably literally the thousandth time I've thanked you all for your reads, votes, and comments! 

Thanks for reading!!! 

Until the next chapter!!! :D

Peace!!~~~