Chapter Six

Between Darkness and Light

Taj Sato.

Bekah stared in shock, while Rei had pressed her back against the wall, tending to the wound that she could reach, occasionally flinching and cringing, clenching her teeth to not make a sound which would reveal her ache of pain. Bekah had paid no heed, resisting the urge to scream at Taj and demand to know what he was doing, but pulled herself back. Her obligation right now was Rei, and should she had called out to him, she would be bringing the Henkei's attention from Taj and to the two who were parked into the corner.

Had he not a care? Did the fact of his brother's concern for Taj's well-being not matter to him? Bekah clenched her teeth and gripped her shaking hands into a tightly compressed fist, her other hand gritted the rubber to the handle of the gun as she looked upon the scene with narrowed eyes.

Taj was an angry child, yes. She knew that he always had been a livid person in spite of his hopeless optimism which he always seemed to have shown to everyone, an optimistic mask that even seemingly fooled his own brother. But Bekah knew better, she'd seen passed the mask, because she had pulled the same trick a dozen times. Strung it out from her sleeve and showed it to the world like a magician would play tricks to a crowd. In many ways Taj was like her self, though he'd always failed to have seen it.

Suddenly there was a crack of metal perforating bone. The bullet fired, and Taj suddenly lost control of the weapon he was holding. A revolver, small looking but made out of the kind of metal that could make its handler unable to hold it right should he not know how to wield it. The bullet had missed them and just barely hit Rei's face as she looked up. She squeaked and jumped, covering her mouth to avoid screaming in distraught. Bekah was tempted to shout out to him, but was still hesitant to reveal her and Rei's location.

Using his predicament to his own advantage, Taj staggered at the aftershock of the firearm's outburst, gaining balance before aiming at the Henkei again, the first one attacked with its jaws launched towards him. Taj let out a scream when he felt its fangs sink deep into the flesh of his arm, tearing through the epidermis like a knife would cut through butter. He made a false attempt to wrench himself free, before he pulled out his free hand which held the weapon, aiming directly at the Henkei and fired into its eye.

Blood splashed against the wall as the bullet rushed through the Hound's eye, its latching teeth had not released him even upon it's death, however. As it had fallen down to the ground, so had Taj, a blunder he had failed to foresee. He was brought down onto his knees, unable to do anything except watch the other three remaining Henkei lashing out their teeth towards him.

Three shots went out at once. One came from Taj, two came from the finally approaching Bekah, holding out her tiny pistol which was enough to pierce the head of the Hound with an incoming set of bullets, leaving only one remaining. This had been the one that remain undisturbed by his falling brothers, for its full attention was placed on the one boy that was handicapped before it. Taj stopped, looking at his impasse now, realizing his defeat.

He tried to fire, his gun refused to go off. Bekah had done the same. Hers wasn't working either.

And then came a mellow voice, a tone that seemed to have echoed throughout the hallway.

"...stop."

Suddenly, the Henkei turned and looked at Bekah. Her heart jerked, until she'd seen the Hound turn around, not even looking twice at Taj before there was the same clicking sound of it's talons tacking the tiled floor lightly. The scorpion tail had swayed in the air while grunting agitatedly as it vanished through the corner.

With a sigh, Taj fell down onto his back, arms sprawled but having one side held back by having the corpse's jaws locked onto his arm, causing him to let out an agonizing groan that made him want to scream, but he could not. Too much was caught in his throat to even speak as of the moment.

Bekah sighed, wiping what felt like swear from her face, looking around to see who had spoken, then turned and saw Rei standing next to her. Only Rei seemed different. She showed no sign of pain on her face regarding what was inflicted on her shoulder and spine. Her arms were pinned to her sides, and she managed to manifest no sign of agony whatsoever. She stared at nothing, passed Taj, into the darkness where the Henkei had vanished into.

"Its coming again," she said vacantly, in a warning tone nonetheless.

"What, Rei?" Bekah asked curiously, about to touch her shoulder before she saw what had been lurking within the shades now. It had been something that Bekah had completely failed to anticipate, cursing herself for her own fault and regretted their fatal blunder.

But the fate wouldn't be inflicted on neither her nor Rei.

"TAJ, BEHIND YOU!"

Except that it had been too late.

***

There had been the sound of a yell. Teji had heard it, he was quick to beat his slow pace into a run. He dashed down the hallway, making his way through the slippery floor that was heavily endowed with dicey blood, almost falling. For quite a while he'd almost gotten habituated to the Galahad and being within the cockpit, nearly forgetting what it was like to be on solid ground once more.

Now it would take forever just to get it out; Forever in which they did not have.

Skidding into a sudden halt, Teji stood blind in the darkness of the corridor. He looked around, hearing the tapping click of talons hitting the ground from afar. His eyes widened when he heard the scream again, an agonizing cry of a boy. He knew that cry. But it had diminished in the sound of a crunch.

Moments later, Teji pressed himself tightly against the wall, watching as the silhouette of a creature hunched over in a canine manner had strutted from beyond the corner of the hallway, tapping the ground softly as it walked passed Teji as though it hadn't seen him at all, smelled him or anything. But something wasn't right. Even as he watched it pass by him, there was something that remained to lurk in the darkness, he just didn't know what...he couldn't see it. Didn't know what was displayed ahead, and it made him worry.

His heart sunk, and Teji ran, fast enough to stare in horror upon the sight that was displayed now before him. The blood, the eyes torn from the sockets, the blood of....

God...don't let this happen to me again....

NOT AGAIN!

***

Bekah covered her mouth with her hand, feeling her stomach lurch and repressing the need to run and vomit. Why had he failed to hear her words? To have not been distracted by turning around but to run forward? Just anything but looking over his shoulder to face the blackened eyes of a Cold Blood Hound, one that had clung itself to the ceiling.

They had an ambushed placed upon their fates after all. They knew where Bekah and Rei were located after all, and if it weren't for Taj, then their attack would have arrived quicker than expected. But it had been neither or the three who had the larger weapon to take the Hound.

Rei stared with her arms pinned to her sides, unafraid, uncaring. While Bekah winced and gagged in repugnance that lurked from deep within her gut, leaning over her knees and allowed the swear to drain down her face and through her eyes. Was that moisture sweat? What had it been? No, not tears either, they were red....

Bekah looked up, and saw red liquids drain from the airshaft above, a face staring downward at her. A vacant stare watching her from up high, the blood from the eye sockets draining and smacking her against her cheek, running down her bewildered countenance. She bit her lip.

It had been Taj's blunder, his mistake to foresee the incoming Henkei whom had stalked up from above him, dropping down onto the ground. It had been Taj who it reached to first. Taj who it lunged at, claws extended, jaws that sunk deep into his chest. It clung to him like a magnetic force allowing it to stick on him, its claws wrapped around his torso and dug into his spine. There was the sound of a snap, and Taj let out a deafening scream, and then had gone limp. He was paralyzed.

Stop.

The Hound had halted it's assault, then looked up with a chunk of meat locked within it's jaws, one slab was seen shown on the under bite, hanging loosely on its tooth. A disgusting sight, but the girl Rei, whom had stared it directly in the eye, had not neither winced, nor blinked. She just stood there, staring it right in the eye, unaffected by its coercions whatsoever. She didn't even seem disgusted by the mere sight of the blood and shredded meat, the stench of human flesh that filled the air. The whole hospital reeked of it, but freshly spilt blood was always much worse.

From the first moment Rei saw Taj, she knew that there was something about him...something that was not right. His eyes, the others were completely oblivious to his eyes. But Rei saw it. She saw what lied deep within Taj's mind, what he thought, what he felt, just by looking into his eyes, so full of hatred and pain. He had been underestimated, and that drew him to be rebellious. All seen within the boy's eyes, she was capable of seeing his soul. How she knew about this, Rei did not know.

Rei closed her eyes and remembered.

***

Take away the pain, feel your mind drifting....

Take away the hate, feel your spirit soaring....

Take away the love, feel the heart breaking....

Take away the pain, the pain...the pain,

Take it away and all shall be good.

"That's very good Rei, you have such a talent with words." A familiar tone.

"Thanks, Undine." A child's song.

"What do they mean?" Such a sweet voice.

"I do not know. They just sort of...came to me."

"Your so solemn, Rei.. Maybe you should take a rest. Come on."

Sleep....

"Undine? Can you sing me that song?"

The song.... The sweet tune.

That melody.

Can you hear it, little Dream Child? Can you hear it?

Pain. Feel the pain. Feel the hate. Take it all away and what do you get?

An empty vessel.

***

Teji had arrived.

Take away the pain. Please, take away the pain....

"Take away the pain, take away the fear, take away the soul, but nothing's there," Rei whispered under her breath, staring at the creature that had just looked up, no longer feasting on Taj's limped body, but it had begun to start pursuing her, it had started to swerve its pathway towards Rei, then glanced over at Bekah, seeing her looking up. Its eyes veered to where she'd been looking at, then bared its silvery red teeth. With that, it turned and took off into the darkness, rushing passed Teji too quick for him to even catch or see.

Bekah had seen it, and tugged on Rei's arm, trying to pull her back. "Come on, we have to...."

A rattling breath, a shriek coming from the other side of the hallway. "Taj...."

"Shit...." Bekah hissed.

He'd been paralyzed before the body, mangled, completely mutilated it was. Taj's blue-green eyes staring at Rei, who stood between the darkness and the flashing light motionless and stared right back. She gazed, half of her stern, expressionless manifestation clearly visible through the light, the rest of it was clouded in the obscurity of her milieu. No matter how much Bekah would tug, there wasn't a thing on this earth that could have moved Rei from her current position.

Except maybe for her own feet.

By the time Rei took the first step forward, she'd walked up from behind Teji, whom had dashed into the scene out of horror and ran to Taj, lifting his head, convinced him to be living. He was muttering whispers, trying to get his brother to "wake up" before he could ever had had the chance to see Rei leisurely walking towards him in a nonchalant manner.

Hands enveloped around his face, fingers pressed against his temples lightly. Bekah watched in shock, her shoulder leaned against the wall, watching in trepidation for their immobility for the status of the current moment, but the scene would soon change; for Teji at least.

Teji Sato, whom had not flinched, but his hands dropped loosely before the body of Taj. He had looked up, but his jade eyes were fogged by a white haze which seemingly unfocused his gaze. He blinked with unseeing eyes.

Only then to see.

***

They killed him. Those sorry bastards killed his brother...how could they have done that? Teji wanted to shoot, but a burst of energy surged through him, and words...who said those words? Pain. His heart ached. He wanted to cry. His brother was dead and he couldn't even avenge the death of his own kin. He'd failed his family both times when he felt the most helpless of all moments.

Hands...a pare of hands reached from behind him.

You can't hurt anything if you can't see what's there....

What? What did that mean? The hands touched his temples. Softly. There was another rush of thoughts racing through Teji's mind. The hands were so soft and consoling. Releasing a string of words. A song. Such a nice song. Disconnected. Drifting. Disjointed. Everything around him vanished into an obscure void, causing him to stand in the center of darkness. There was someone standing in front of him. Who was it? A face. A boy who was crying. The boy was sad. Yes, he was. But why?

What are you willing to live for, Teji? And what are you willing to die for?

For my....

Move on.

Says who?

You're brother.

"Taj...don't leave me. Don't let me fail you as my failure has bestowed in the pretence of our father. Don't make this happen to me now...." Teji moaned, a sonic wave ran through his brain, thoughts, energy. Who was he talking to?

Teji then felt himself falling. Everything around him flickered like the screen of a broken television set, showing him faces that stared and surrounded him from all sides, ganging down on his small, helpless figure. Who were they? He never seen these faces before. Teji screamed. He never been so scared before in his life. He didn't know where he was nor did he know what was happening to him.

A voice.

Take away the pain, feel your mind drifting....

Take away the hate, feel your spirit soaring....

If only that were possible. To take away the pain.

Take it all away?

Yes, Teji told the voice. Yes, I am willing to die for Taj.

Why? What for?

Because I love him. I love him as my brother, he was my responsibility. I was supposed to die.

Do you wish the pain gone?

Yes. Yes, I do.

Then granted.

***

Teji fell. Rei dropped, leaning against the wall. She breathed, her mind drained. What happened? She could not remember what happened. Bekah emerged out of the darkness. That was when Rei realized that the Cold Blood Hounds had walked away. Bekah walked towards Teji, grabbing his wrist. He was alive. She then looked up at Rei, narrowing her gaze suspiciously. "What did you do?"

Rei couldn't say anything. Her eyes closed, a sweet tune rang in her head, then Bekah faded.

***

A memory.

A vision of Taj, wandering down the hallway. He walked into his parent's room, appearing quite young at the time of the memoir, Teji had been ten. Their house hadn't been that big, not like how they'd always wanted it to be, ever since their father passed on, their mother had to work and live off of welfare. They had always had to live like this.

He stared at his brother, who was lying under his bed, his lower torso sticking out from under it. Teji was making quite a ruckus under there, like he'd been searching for something, but even Taj knew at his young age that his older brother would refuse to give him any sort of explanation. Still, being who he was, he would always try anyway.

"What are you doing?" Taj asked.

There was a loud bump, and Teji pulled himself outwards and looked at Taj. "Oh, it's just you."

"What are you doing?" Taj asked him, surpassing the fact that most likely he should have been angered by the "just you" remark. He didn't care, a child had not taken insults into heart. To the mind of the naivety, there was no such thing as a personal insult which left an unbearable scar. A scar which would remained baring in their later years. Taj had never taken his brother's invectives personally.

"Trying to find something," Teji snapped.

"In mom's room?"

"Yeah."

"Like what?"

"Her wallet."

"What for?"

"To find her social securities number."

"Why?"

"Because, it's just something that no other senseless five-year-old like you should know," Teji said, not even bothering to look at him. Taj always felt bad whenever Teji never looked at him when he talked, it made him feel like his brother was being less truthful. "Even if I told you, you'd just tell mom anyway. Now you better get out of here or I'll kick your butt."

Taj didn't want that. Back then he was afraid of Teji, but he found out that his brother got in trouble later on for taking his mother's money out of her bank account. He never knew what for, what possible could there be for a ten-year-old to want so much money? Taj could never figure Teji out, he was so much of a dissenter back then. He had been grounded for months. Hours worth of endless lectures, while Taj hung out in his room, too scared to do anything about it for his brother's defense. Teji then got angry and began beating on him. But for some reason, Taj let him, he never yelled back; Never resisted. It was like he was agreeing with Teji that he needed to take his anger out on him. Or maybe Taj just wasn't all that resistant back then.

Four years later, when Taj was nine, he walked passed Teji's bedroom, about to head for his own, when he began to hear the faint sound that belonged to his brother, the weeping coming from behind the door. Taj pressed his ear up close to the door, listening in on Teji's moping. Then peered through the door to reveal Teji's neatly cleaned room, filled with nothing but a mattress where he slept, a table next to the "bed," closet, drawers, and a desk where his brother was now sitting at.

"I hate him," he saw him moan. "I hate him...I hate him I hate him I hate him...."

Taj backed away from the door. He had never heard Teji talk like that before, it was like someone else was talking after he was hearing the sound of tearing paper. Taj quickly made haste towards his room, trying to forget that that moment ever happened.

Most siblings would hold their mourning against each other in later years for being weakened, but Taj never told Teji that he heard him crying that day. He never told him that he knew that Teji felt somewhat responsible for his father's death, or guilty for his words spoken.

As a matter in fact, if it hadn't been for that one day, during the explosion in Chicago, then maybe Teji wouldn't have turned out the way he had. So self doubtful and hate for his father as well as many other things. Taj grew to hate those monsters that caused the demise of his father from that day forth, because they made Teji cry.

He never got to tell Teji that he was sorry for all of the things he'd said.

Teji would never know.