InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ JOURNEY ❯ Chapter 6 ( Chapter 6 )

Disclaimer: All characters pertaining to the show InuYasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. I am not making any money from this...the only thing that I am getting out of this story is the satisfaction of knowing that other people enjoy my writing. All original characters are my creation and belong to me...as does the plot and storyline.

 

 

Chapter 6

 

Kagome's face was an emotionless mask as she took off her bloody shirt. She dragged Sango's body from the picnic area and into the woods. Kagome covered her body with a pile of rocks and pine tree boughs. It took several hours of hard work, but Kagome didn't even notice. She also didn't notice the throbbing in her right shoulder.

 

It was still dark on Wednesday morning when Kagome picked up Sango's backpack and began to walk toward the highway. She walked along the road until she reached the highway. It was almost dawn when Kagome collapsed from exhaustion. She sat down on the shoulder of the road. She put her long, sleeved shirt back on. She looked around her, but all she could see was trees. There were trees for a far as she could see. She saw an eagle flying overhead. The eagle, traditionally, was a messenger from the Great Spirit. Kagome knew that somehow she would survive, but her mind and body were numb. She wanted to cry, but she knew that if she started now, she might never stop, so she would not let herself. She told herself to be strong. She felt that if she were weak, she would go crazy.

 

Kagome heard a low rumble carried on the breeze. She looked southwest down the road. She could see five tiny motorcycles coming up the highway. As they drew near, Kagome was not inclined to move at all. She didn't really care about anything at all, so the least of her concerns was whether or not they stopped to pick her up. She rested her head on her knees and looked at the ground. Only when they stopped in front of her did she recognize them from Flagstaff.

 

He looked down at her, sitting on the shoulder of the road, and immediately noticed something wrong. Her green eyes were filled with such pain that it hurt him to look. Her clothes were torn and dirty; and bruises were beginning to show on her cheek and neck. He noticed the excessive amount of blood as well. His heart reached out to her even though he had no idea what had happened to make such a vibrant girl turn so jaded in only four days. He did the only thing he could do: he held out his hand to her and let her know that, for the moment at least, she was not alone.

 

Kagome looked up with a face that was dirty and splattered with last night's rain. Her jeans were torn and dirty and had blood splattered all over them. The silver haired biker didn't seem to care how she looked. He held out his hand to her, and without knowing why, she accepted it. She reveled in the strength of that single touch. It made her feel strange, but in a way, it reassured her that she was not alone, at least for the moment. Kagome got onto the fender of his bike.

 

“Where's your friend?” asked the tall brunette.

 

Kagome's only reply was a silent shake of her head as a couple of tears forced their way down her cheeks and she fought to keep her lip from trembling. She wrapped her arms around the waist of her companion as they started up the road. She wasn't concerned about where they were going; she only wanted to get away from the rest stop where her best friend was buried under a pile of stones, off a deserted path in the Colorado wilderness.

 

Kagome rested her head against his back and watched as the scenery sped past her like a movie. Everything was a blur as she thought about what had happened to Sango. She didn't know why, but she wanted to trust the silver haired stranger. She glanced to her left and found that the creepy one was leering at her in a way that made her uncomfortable. She turned her head the other direction, and tried to think about something else, but it was not easy. Kagome wondered if she had made a mistake by taking a ride with these strangers. Sure they had helped her out at the diner, but she really didn't know anything about them, including the one she was riding with, the one she was undeniably attracted to.

 

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Finally, they turned off the interstate and headed down a two-lane county road. Kagome wondered where they were going. About two and a half miles up the road, they turned again and went down another county road. It was not long before they turned yet again. Finally, after several twists and turns, they made their way into Mt. Falcon Open Space Park. There were lots of trees for shade, but other than that, it was exactly what the name implies, open space, and a lot of it.

 

“What have I done,” Kagome thought as her mind raced back to the events of the previous night. `What was I thinking? What are they going to do to me? I have no idea where we are. I don't even know what town I'm in,' she thought as she began to panic. Kagome took a deep breath and told herself, `I've got to remain calm. I can't let them know I'm scared.' She looked around, her eyes darting warily from one person to the next. She caught the smelly one staring at her. Kagome nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a hand on her arm. She spun around and took a swing, but the silver-haired biker caught her hand.

 

He offered her a hit off of a joint that was being passed around. Kagome gladly accepted it, because she knew it would help calm her nerves. “Relax a little,” he said with what looked like concern in his eyes. Kagome assured herself that she must have been mistaken. `Why would he care about me,' she asked herself. But, surely she was safe enough in a public park. She looked at him as he walked back over to the others. Then she went over and sat against a tree while they talked amongst themselves. She looked up and caught everyone looking at her, and it made her uncomfortable. She hugged her packs to her and went around to the other side of the tree where no one could see her. She was not quite ready to trust them yet. After what she had done, she was not even sure she could trust herself.

 

 

About forty-five minutes later, one of them came over and offered her some food, but she silently refused. As he turned away and returned to the others, Kagome turned and looked at him. It was the same one who had ordered the hamburgers on Saturday night. Kagome quickly turned away as she discovered her silver-haired savior watching her. He had beautiful eyes and a handsome face. He was very good-looking, but he seemed a little colder than he had been when she had talked to him at the coke machine. Then Kagome became aware of her own appearance. She realized how horrible she must look. She examined herself and found that her pants were torn and had dirt as well as blood on them, and so did her shirt. Kagome looked around and spotted a restroom several yards away, so she headed for it.

 

Kagome changed her clothes and began to rummage through her packs. She found that it would be easier to carry only one pack, so she folded everything into her pack. Only when she reached down to lift the backpack did she notice the throbbing pain in her right shoulder and upper arm. She looked in a mirror and she could see the angry red gash on the back of her arm. It was not too big from what she could tell, so she dismissed it. She put on a long sleeved shirt over her tube top and tied it at the waist, leaving it unbuttoned. Then she put on a tiny bit of makeup to help cover up the bruises on her face and throat.

 

When she emerged, she found the silver haired biker leaning against a tree, waiting for her. She glanced at him quickly before heading back toward his bike. He quickly grabbed her elbow. She turned to look at him, and jerked her arm free.

 

“We need to talk,” he said as he pulled her to a picnic table. “Sit,” he pointed at the seat across from him.

 

Kagome sat down, but she didn't say a word.

 

“Look, you can ride with me to South Dakota. We are headed for Sturgis. After we get to Sturgis, I'll take you to the reservation. But first, you need to be straight with me, or all bets are off.”

 

“I don't know what you mean.”

 

“I'm talking about how you and your missing friend are suspects in the murder of Rose Crawford.” He paused briefly as the shock of what he had said registered on her face. “It's all over the news in Flagstaff how they think that you and your friend stole all of the money from the register and then killed her when you left.”

 

“I didn't kill her. You have to believe me. She was like a grandmother to us. She gave us a bag of money from the safe upstairs, but not any from the register. She made us take it. She said she was closing down the diner. ”

 

“I believe you. Now, where is your friend?”

 

“She's dead,” Kagome said as she looked up into the trees, trying to choke back tears.

 

“Kagome, take a deep breath and tell me what happened.”

 

“How is it that you know my name and I don't know yours?”

 

“You're names and pictures were on all the news channels in Flagstaff. And my name is Sesshomaru,” he added. “Now tell me what happened.”

 

“I really...don't ...want to talk about it,”

 

“It must be really bad...but I still need to know.”

 

“Ok,” she replied despondently. “Sango and me hitched our way up to a truck stop near Johnson Village. We were walking from there when it started raining. This truck stopped to pick us up, so we got in the camper. We rode with them until we got to a rest stop near where you picked me up. I looked under the tarp in the camper while they were driving. They were hauling a lot of cocaine, and I didn't recognize them until it was too late. They took us to that rest stop and…” Kagome began to falter.

 

“What happened?” He fought the urge to reach across the table to her.

 

“Oh God,” Kagome said as she looked up into the trees, tears pouring down her cheeks. “They made me watch…while they…tortured...raped…” She rested her head on the table as sobs wracked her body. She didn't see the appalled look on his face.

 

“How did you get away?” he asked quietly.

 

“I carry a knife in my boot,” she said between sobs. “I managed to reach it ...cut myself loose...Sango, they shot her… in the face...they came for me...that fat slob tried to drag me to my feet...I stabbed him.” She took a deep breath and continued. “I took his gun and shot one of the others, but they managed to get to the truck and got away.”

 

Without even realizing it, he reached across the table and took her hands in his. “You said they recognized them. Who were they?”

 

“It was the three Navaho men that were hassling me at the café Sunday.”

 

“You said that you took his gun. Where is it?”

 

“In my backpack.”

 

“Let me have it. You won't be needing it again.”

 

“Here,” she said as she handed it to him with trembling hands.

 

Sesshomaru took the gun from her and tucked it behind his belt, under his jacket. “Come on,” he told her, “I'll introduce you to the others.”

 

 

Kagome followed him back to the others. You'll be traveling with us for the next two days, so you might as well know their names.”

 

“Guys,” Sesshomaru said as they approached the others, “Kagome is going to ride with us to Sturgis, and then I'm going to take her to Rosebud.” Sesshomaru motioned toward the brunette guy with vibrant, blue eyes, “This is Kouga.”

 

“I'm Inu,” one of them said. “My real name is InuYasha,” he said as he lifted the sleeve of his shirt to reveal a tattoo of four playing cards, all aces, “but everyone just calls me Inu or Ace.” He had long black hair that was peppered with silver, and he looked like he did too many drugs.

 

“I'm Miroku,” the guy who had ordered the hamburgers at the diner said. He was very intelligent looking, especially when he was wearing glasses, as he was then.

 

“Yeah, and I'm Naraku. But most everyone calls me Skunk,” the last one said as he approached her. Kagome felt a wave of nausea come over her as she discovered why they called him Skunk. He smelled like a case of tequila and looked like he hadn't taken a bath in weeks. She stepped away.

 

“Charmed,” she said sarcastically as Naraku gave her a dirty look.

 

“Why don't you ride with Miroku,” Sesshomaru suggested. “You'll be a little more comfortable.”

 

“Oh, ok,” Kagome replied quietly, a little disappointed.

 

“We have to make a stop in Denver, so we will be camping in Colorado tonight. Tomorrow, we have a couple of things to do in Cheyenne, so we will we camping in Wyoming tomorrow night,” Miroku informed her.

 

“Alright,” she agreed as she got on the back of Miroku's bike. He had a pad on the fender of his bike, which led Kagome to believe that he was used to having passengers. She glanced at Sesshomaru as they pulled back onto the road. He turned his head and caught her looking at him. He raised an eyebrow and sent her a warm smile. Kagome blushed and averted her attention to the scenery.

 

They stopped in Denver to visit Kouga's mother, who was in the hospital. She had Leukemia and she was dying. The doctors didn't expect her to live another month. Kouga's father was there too. Kagome stayed outside with the motorcycles while the guys went inside to see her.

 

 

TBC...

 

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