Sand and Sun - Chapter 9

[temaridesertstorm]

The girl found herself in the infinite blackness again, and once again, she felt terrible. Maybe it was the pain spreading through her head with every second, or just the usual choking dark. There was something wrong with her, or with everything. Nothing about this place felt the same, and it scared her. Just as she wondered what was about to happen, the voice called out as it always did. But this time something happened she didn’t expect. The voice said something it had never said before, something that scared her down to her soul.
“Where are you?” it began as usual, “Haven’t you heard me? I’ve been looking for you all this time. Why haven’t you come out? I’m still here. I won’t stop until you’re back. Just give up hiding and come find me.”
She found herself frozen to the spot, the words sinking into her head. Was he really looking for someone? If so, why was he telling her? Was she the one he was looking for? The questions buzzed in her head and she held it, pressing her hands to the side of her forehead.
“Will you answer me?” the voice asked, “I’m here for you, but you don’t seem to see me. Stop standing there and come back. I’m waiting, so hurry.”
Not thinking her voice would work, she spun around and yelled back, “I have no clue what’s going on! Why don’t you understand? I don’t know who you are!”
Just as she realized what she said, she heard her own voice echoing off the blackness.
“So, is that your answer?” the voice responded after a minute of silence, “I didn’t think that you would have been like this. Have you decided? Is that your answer?”
“N-no, it’s…” she struggled to find the words, “I just…I don’t understand all of this. Just…explain it to me.”
“It’s up to you,” he said, taking a step back, “I can’t help you.”
She took a step forward, trying to call him back, but her voice left her and she let the darkness close in on her once again.
Kira opened her eyes slowly, both of them feeling sore, almost as if they were glued together. Opening her eyes more, she realized why. She had been blindfolded, bound, and gagged, unable to move or see. Trying to escape, she moved her legs into a better position.
“Don’t move brat,” someone said, a voice recognizably belonging to the first ninja she had attacked, as he slapped her hard across the side of the face. She bit down on the gag, stifling a yell of pain.
“You shouldn’t do that,” another voice said, “We said that we’d keep her unharmed until he got here. Even though we did our best to cover up her injuries, she can easily get more in this state.”
“Does it really matter what happens to the girl?” the first replied, “Once we get when we need, we’ll kill her anyway.”
“It does matter. If he comes and wants to see her before he goes, and we show him her in a beat up manner like that, he’ll kill us on the spot and our mission will be a failure. We can’t have that.”
The first one scoffed. “I hate how you analyze everything. It’s so annoying.”
“It’s what keeps us alive. If I wasn’t so analytical… Stop mocking me!”
“I can do whatever I want. You may have the brain, but I have all the power. You’re too weak to be of any threat to me.”
Kira shifted once again and the first smacked her again. She bit down, feeling blood run down her chin.
“Great, you made her hurt herself. Nice work,” the second mumbled.
“Don’t mock me!” the first yelled back.
“I’m not mocking you. Geez.”
Kira tired to ignore the two, but they continued rambling on for hours, yelling at each other and arguing to the point where it got tiring to even listen. Eventually, she closed her eyes, falling fast asleep.