Chapter 280One of Nine - Death

The four who failed him were in the back. We were scouting the rooftops again, hoping to find her. But something in him didn't feel right. Kryss was acting very strangely, more agitated, out of his usual calm. Out of control. He was... Scared...

Most of us didn't feel that much better either. She had survived the sun! And not only that, but after surviving what was probably excruciating pain, she managed to beat four of us in a heartbeat.

Granted, she surprised them completely. No one expected to find anything but ashes. He hadn't screamed at them, or hit them when they returned. He'd just looked at them in disbelief until he noticed the missing clothes. No one would think up a story like that.

So we had to find her.

Then, the next unexpected thing happened.

Amy found us.

It scared the hell out of me when she just picked up Kryss in passing. Flying! None of us could fly, we didn't even know it was possible. She just flew past us and grabbed him right in front of our noses. Despite the darkness it was clear she was angry and well-fed. How had she regained so much strength in such a short time?

"You three, after her!"

Three of us, the fastest among us, ran after her, following their silhouettes in the sky. I was surprised at how fast she was going and how far she already appeared to be. But in the dark, distance can be deceiving.

"Let's follow them as best we can."

The ones who took charge were the two clever ones that usually barked orders when Kryss was away. They usually knew when not to give orders too. Just saying what was needed without ever going over the limit. I wouldn't have liked it if they did, as they were among the weakest of us. It was like jocks being pushed around by geeks.

But there was a time and a place for everything. They knew what to do, so we followed.

The three who hunted found us after five minutes. They were out of breath as they really had been pushing themselves.

"Kryss managed to break free..." The one speaking had to catch his breath. "She followed him in, it's the metal works..." Another breath. "We have to hurry."

We followed them at a swift pace, they had some trouble keeping up with us, but that was easily forgotten. Running at full speed took it out of you. But we hoped we'd be in time to help Kryss.

Before we arrived at the factory, we heard a loud scream in the distance.

"Faster!"

All of us did our best to run faster, hoping we would at least see what happened. The scream had originated from Kryss, not from... that girl. The name Amy was so contradictory, so unlike the strong, fast fighter that she sometimes appeared to be. It was rather a sort of cute, frail name for someone who was a bit shy or something.

I shrugged. That was a lifetime long since past.

We arrived at the factory. Unable to jump to the roof as the distance and height between the surrounding buildings and itself was too large.

"Spread out!"

Only one of us saw Amy leaving that night. The angle of our approach made it very hard to see the roof and she was gone before he could scream for others. Her being able to fly didn't help much either.

We headed into the factory and searched.

It took us till the morning, but we searched every nook and cranny of that place without any trace of Kryss. Nothing but a smell of burning flesh that left only a vague clue to what happened here. Kryss must have escaped... Maybe before we did.

Maybe he didn't escape...

Maybe she killed him...

Nights passed without his return, everyone still eagerly waiting, hiding for him. Then weeks passed without a single sign.

He was dead.

He had to be.

"Kryss is dead."

As soon as one said it, we all thought it. It was absolutely clear in every bodies mind. We fell apart, temper was definitely heading down hill. The group which had been held together by it's enigmatic leader lost it's focal point. Even the smart ones were unsure of where to go and what to do. We were unguided, unfocused.

Alone.