| MY TIME HAS COME |
| Prologue �Zoot� came the quaky voice �I don�t understand how can you be alive� uttered ebony as she shakily came closer to get a better look at the still figure. She took site of the unblemished skin on his hands. She began to shake her head widely and murmured �how can this be you were burned� then in a louder hazy voice spoke out �your dead� she said pointing her fingers unconsciously in an accusing way �your dead, lex killed you they watch you die� you where burned�I� she stopped, her throat caught up, saliva wedging in her voice box making it impossible to speak. She slowly looked at him bewilderment obvious in her face and for the first time he face moved, and he gave her one of his devilish smiles. He held it for a while as if he just conquered a quest. Ebony almost shook as she heard his icy voice speak �let�s not live in the past now ebony� zoot spoke boldly �The future of the city is here�within my grasp�. He briefly turned his head away from her as if to recompose himself. He looked back at her sternly, he face looked even more blanked as he spoke he�s voice was stricken, almost pained �I�ll make them suffer; I�ll make them all suffer� He finished now with some kind of unexplained emotion written on his face �I�ll strike them down when they least expect it� he continued his voice seamlessly strong �nothing can hold me down. The future is here! The future is now! The future is mine�. Ebony stared at him wide eye, her breathing was now frantic, the fact that he was standing there right in front of her was too much to grasp. She was speechless. All she could do was stare at him dumbly. She didn�t know what plaques were haunting zoots mind or what plans he had for the future and for whom but whatever it was it was bad�.. �Ebony� he spoke again and this time she failed to stay calm and jumped as she heard is voice� he smirked �my will, will be fulfilled no one can stop it. It has already begun. Ram has fallen in his own dismissed like I knew he would. He knew how to grasp the power but he failed to learn how to control it.� He stepped closer to her tightening the gap �He became weak in his last days his defeat was inevitable. But his job is done now he is no longer needed. If you can�t handle power, chaos is what will happen.� ebony continued to stare at him dumbly she was sweating zoot took another step towards her it was as if the air was tightening as well. She found it hard to breathe� �arggh� she screamed lightly moving to the other end of the room collapsing at the wall� she felt ashamed a her behaviour but there was no pint hiding it any longer he knew that she was afraid. �How do you know all this� she managed a small voice escaped from her mouth�. He smirked once more �It�s simple really. I kept watch all these years. I been waiting, plotting my conquest, my revenge� �Why now� she asked �why not earlier� �This is a good time as any. The city was starting to forget the name of ZOOT. But not anymore my days of waiting in the shadow are over. Its time for me to come into the solitude of the day� he moved towards her again �are you ready for me ebony� �r - ready for what...� she stuttered, what had this got to do with her, she looked at him panicky maybe he was here to kill her. Zoot looked at her and almost spat at her vulnerability, how weak had she become� �look how low you�ve become. All the time spent with the pathetic foes of the city ebony your mind is slow� he began still moving closer to her �look at the world we live in the adults are dead. The throne of the city is up for grasps. The ebony I knew would ha claimed already not playing footing with the techno general� her eyes shot up at him how did he know that, before she could question he continued �but that doesn�t matter I�m here to claim it. The city is weak they need someone strong to lead them. They�ve been wandering around like packs of dogs for far too long its time to bring back POWER and CHAOS into the city, a new order and that someone is I� the gap was now closed between them again, ebony tried desperately to stay calm, he bent down slightly so that he was at eye contact with her and spoke �now ebony is what is your name and what clan are you representing���..� ~ ~ I stayed quiet and looked stupidly to the floor unable to bear eye contact with him anymore. I was shocked about the newfound revelation that was zoot. I couldn�t get my head round that fact that he was alive... how. But like he said that doesn�t matter anymore. I caught my reflection on one of the computer screens in the room. I had changed since the early days. I did not hold the cares that I did now. I felt weak. I stared intensely at my reflection. Red I almost spat. I had adopted that colour; nearly all of my clothing had a trace of that colour even my make up. My very lips were painted with a bright shade of it. The colour of passion and love... Love� I thought bitterly. I had that thought jay and I were in love. But look how that faired out. I gave him my heart and yet he wasn�t so willing to take it. I sighed fighting back tears; looking desperately at my hands I had become so weak. I had saw jay and amber that day at the eco camp. I saw them kiss but they did not see me standing behind the tree. It felt like I had been stabbed in my heart as I watched them from afar, then relief came to me as if my heart was being sowed back as I saw jay pull back and leave. I had hoped he would have told me about the kiss, say that she moved on him. But he didn�t seem relent on it so I thought it had meant nothing and brushed it off like a speck of dust. I didn�t want to seem like the jealous girlfriend though I had reason to be. And now even at the very defeat of ram and our victory. I thought now would be our chance to get away from the cries and shadows of the city. The shadows that still hunt me �the past�. But he didn�t seem so keen to leave anymore. Maybe his newfound glory that was amber had swayed him. But I guess I always knew that it wouldn�t last we came from different worlds, different parts and different minds�.. But looking back now, I wished I had said something about the kiss. How ironic that it was amber he kissed. It was like it was starting the endless war of good and evil between us again. Though it never died it was just waiting to be rekindled. Starting the eternal love triangles we always seemed to share. First bray and now jay. But knowing ambers past she�d probably come out on top and I would be left in the dark alone. But no more I would not be a liability to this game again. not anymore. If jay and amber want to be together that was their affair but I�ll make sure they suffer the pain and hurt like I had so many times. It was like no matter how hard I tried to help them �the mall rats� it wasn�t good enough. They would never trust me nor would they forget my past. Like I shall never forget it. I wandered why they even bothered calling me by my first name anyway cause the first name that came in their mind no doubt when they see me is Evil B!tch. Well I wouldn�t live in false pretences anymore. I shall become what they want me to become, what they keep reminding me that I am �Evil� and a �b!tch� �You try my patience ebony� I heard zoots impatient voice again awakening me out of my deep thoughts reminding me that this was not a dream �Now state your name and who you are representing�. I hesitated for a second then I said, �My name is Ebony queen of the loco�s, zoots right hand woman. I am representing the loco�s bringers of power and chaos; we hold no allegiance to any but our selves anyone who steps in our way shall be crushed. We cannot be stopped� �Yes! And that you are ebony� zoot said as his smile deepened �That you are� ~~ A look in jays mind I walked into the mall for the second time that day. Hoping that ebony had return but there was no sign of her. it was as if she vanished. I walked up the stairs of the now quiet mall. It seemed that everyone was still out celebrating rams defeat. I went in the room me and ebony now called ours and locked myself in. I sat on the bed exhausted from today�s events. �Where are you ebony,� I said aloud as I laid back on the bed. I could smell her scent on the pillows. I cursed myself for letting ebony walk away from me back at the hotel. But things had gotten complicated she still wanted us to leave the city. I couldn�t understand why. now that was defeated, I had the opportunity�We had the opportunity to really change the city, build hospitals, schools set out a new order where everyone could feel safe. The opportunity was right there for our grasping and could not be missed. But she didn�t see that. Another reason I couldn�t leave was because ved was still missing. I knew that rams influence on him would be his downfall. I tried to protect him, show him that ram was no good, but it was too late he was too far gone and now he�s missing. But I won�t forget you ved, even after everything that happened your still my brother� and I guess I love you in my own way� a way that you couldn�t understand. I�ll find you ved. I laughed at myself at the irony of that. Love. It was said that love conquers all �yeah right�. Grace and me where in love but she was taken away from me just like that. I didn�t even get to say goodbye properly. I sighed heavily why was it that the ones you love the most were always the ones taken away from you. My parents, grace, ved and now ebony��� Her name represents everything about her, strong, bold, passionate �even though she was mostly passionate about bad stuff� and beautiful. that she was her eyes were the colour of the greenest grass by day and by night it sparkled the room with green rays� It so complicated being with her. I didn�t understand her sometimes she has all these different vibes coming from every direction, which were difficult to read. When we were together and I looked in her eyes. I could see raw emotion sparkling in them. Love. I felt that everything would be okay between us everything will work out. Especially when we were in the fields running away from ram I felt so much love for her and her love for me as well. But maybe it was just my feelings reflecting off her and bouncing back to me. But I was so happy knowing that she didn�t want to be anywhere else but with me, that she wanted to leave the city so that we could be together. And that meant everything to me and we got so close. I felt that I could really trust her. Then amber and her tribe found us in the woods and we went back to her camp. Amber� what happened there we were talking one day I guess I got too strong on her or something and she leaned in and kissed me. I didn�t understand what was happening, I was going to pull back straight away but she confused my feelings and I responded for a second but then I drew back. It was like I could feel a presence. Ebony�s presence as I walked away. We never mentioned that kissed we shared and I soon forgot about it. Then amber announced that she was coming back to the city with us to fight ram. I felt a whole respect for her when she said that, that she was willing to leave her son to fight for what she believed in and all those confused feelings from our kiss came back again. I admit it would be so much easier to be with amber. We were both on the same wavelength, we shared the same dream, hope of making the city a better place to live. I thought I could make ebony share that dream with me, but she has her own mind and other ideas that were not so good for everyone else at times. But now at the downfall of ram at the hotel. I thought now she would see the opportunity that laid awaiting. She didn�t need to feel scared of what ram would do to us as he was out of the way but she still insisted on us leaving the city to start a new life. It was like she was running away from something or from some one. But how tempting those words were starting a new life together but I couldn�t abandon my dream or my brother. She then asked me if I wanted to be with her. I didn�t answer. I don�t know why I didn�t. I could see now that I was a fool for not answering. When I looked in her eyes, I could see her eyes darken like a cloud coming over it. I could see the hurt on her face from my silence. And I wanted to say something to ease the pain. But I saw something else behind those green eyes of hers, not of hurt but of confusion and darkness. Concerned I asked her what was wrong but she immediately perked up and smiled she said she needed air and walked away. I was confused as I watched her walked way. There was something in her eyes that was disturbing. After a minute or so of pondering I walked outside the hotel to find her but she was nowhere to be seen. I looked for her everywhere but had no luck. I had lost her. And that leads me back here to this room. I got up and looked out of the window. The sun was now setting closing the chapter of the day but what would the night bring. I could feel evil in the air, trouble brewing in the city. Things weren�t right and I felt that ebony had yet a part to play. I sighed heavily �where are you ebony� ~ ~ ~ By the time I had left the little room in the hotel it was well past the hour. The hotel was quieter than it had been a while ago. The only people that were left where scattered techno�s with no idea of what to do next. I went to my old room in the hotel and made my way to the private bathroom that was hidden away in it. I caught a glimpse of my self in the mirror and stared at my reflection. I turned the taps on and washed away my make-up and patted my face dry with a towel lying on the rail. I made my way to my dressing table and pulled up a stool and sat on it. It was now time for a change I thought as I stared at my refection and started putting on my make up ~ ~ ~ It was now coming to midnight and there was still no sign of ebony. I laid there on the bed eyes wide opened staring at the ceiling thinking. But the silence of the room was getting too much to take. I decided to start my search again and headed for the door. I unlocked it and went out. As I walked quietly along the corridors of the mall I could hear the snores and heavy breathing of the mall rats resting from the events of the day. I crept down the stairs of the dark mall. I decided to go out through the back of the mall so that I wouldn�t have to pull the gates up and arouse questions from any awakening mall rats. The wind hit me hard, as is stepped into the dark cold streets of the city. I wished I had gotten a jacket as I folded my arms to try to block out some the cold air. I had now been walking around the dark alleys and streets for about 30 minutes. The mall was a far distant away. I continued walking but with no avail, ebony was nowhere to be found. I rubbed my arms together trying to get some warmth back into them. I put my hands to my face and blew on them hoping my warm breath would get some feeling back to them. I turned the corner to enter a narrow alleyway and closed my eyes for a second as a speck of dust went in it. Then suddenly someone bumped in to me and in a cold menacing voice said�. �Why don�t you open your eyes and watch where you�re going. The city streets are a very dangerous place to be walking alone at night especially with your eyes closed. And for the ex general of the techno�s who knows who could be hiding in the dark�. ~ ~ �Ebony� I said startled I had finally found her. I thought I had lost her but looking at her more closely I saw that I had lost something - some part of her. She wasn�t the same ebony I had been with earlier that day. No she was different her physical appearance was a strong significance of that. As I fully took hold of her appearance I stepped back in shock�. No longer was she wearing her black, leather trousers and red top that had defined her appearance for a long time she had now swapped them for something darker and plain. She wore black jeans that were as dark as the night sky, a navy blue jersey (like the basketball ones) that showed of her arms with the number �1� on the front in bold white writing. But what stood out the most was her make up it was horrific. I looked up to study her face her once clear delicate markings where now replaced with something more cynical. She had long red stripes painted across her face like a cat had scratched her. I looked at her eyes, her once lively eyes where now cold and gloom. She now wore contacts on one of her eyes - Her right eye. it was a colourless shade that made her look chilling. she now held her braids up in two above her head. I took a deep breath as I tried to swallow the whole concept of her new look. It was if she were a stranger. I took a step towards her and I attempted to put my hands on her bare arms but pulled back suddenly when I saw a marking on her left arm near her shoulders. There in bold red writings with red tear drops hanging from the sides like blood was the letter Z. ~~~~~ Ebony gave a short laugh �do you like it jay� she said amused as he drew back from her �I did it myself� �W.. what� hw stuttered �What�s with this sudden change� �You didn�t answer my question jay do you like it� �I�. Its different I mean it makes you look�� �Dark, cold maybe scary well then if so my work is done� �ebony� jay said shaking his head confused �your appearance doesn�t matter right now, I�ve been looking for you for the past hour where have you been. I was worried� �Worried you jay why!� �W� why!� he stuttered again clearly thrown back �because I care about you of course that�s why� he continued boldly �look I know it might not have seemed that way earlier on but I didn�t get a chance to answer your question� �My question� ebony said eyebrows shooting up �Yes� jay said suddenly getting nervous �You know when you asked me if I wanted to be with you. Well the answer is yes� �Is that so jay� ebony said mockingly. she would had paid anything to hear those word from him earlier but now it meant nothing to her. Her mind was straight now she had zoot and other plans of her own which didn�t include jay� �Yeah I do� jay said taking her hands and squeezing it tightly. �Look ebony I just need to set things right in the city. Rebuild the technos damage. Build hospitals and schools. Help get peace and order back the city and find my brother. Then if you still want to leave the city I�ll come with you and we can start a new life together. Just you and me�. Ebony pulled her hands out of jays grasps slowly and dropped it too her sides �You and me. You and me� she started getting angry and started in a more calmer voice�. �you see now jay if it wasn�t for the warning in my heart I would think that you actually made sense. But can�t you see. There will never be peace or order in this city. All that�s left is chaos. You�re a dreamer jay its time you woke up and face reality� �ebony ... I...� he began clearly shunned �save it jay� she hushed him �even if there was a chance that you could achieve your goals would you still want to be with me. are you sure you wouldn�t find anything better or have you already found that� �what stop talking in riddles ebony� said jay frustrated �I would still want to be with you. I want to be with you� "I don�t think you know what you want jay��. Think jay are you sure there isn�t someone else you�d rather be with or maybe you want the both of us� she spat the last line out. �No ebony there�s only you. I want to be with you� he said firmly again �Well maybe I don�t want to be with you� �You don�t mean that� he�s hoarse voice spoke out �Don�t I� ebony said taking a step closer and staring into jays eyes coldly �don�t I jay�. he remained silent. �I thought we had something ebony� he said finally �So did I jay� �Then what made you change your mind tell me so I can change it back� �ahhh! Ebony said also getting frustrated �this conversation is pointless. The past is behind us now and cannot be repaired for me anyway. I have a new plan in my life a new future and that doesn�t include you� �ebony why are you being like this� jay cried getting teary eyed �I�m not being like anything. This is the real me. Now if you�ll excuse me� she said walking past him �zoot is waiting for me� He grabbed her arm and turned her back to him �Zoot� he said confused �zoot what has he got to with this�. �that does not concern you jay� she spoke icily �yet� she said liking her lips devilishly. �ebony� said jay ignoring her last remark. He caught a glimpse of the marking on her arm and realised what the letter stood for. �I don�t know much about your past ebony but I�m pretty sure that this zoot guy is dead so why are you wearing his name on you� �Is he dead jay. Is he really. I mean did any of this city rejects actually see his dead body. No. Jay they didn�t it was all part of zoots plan. Zoots alive and kicking. He�s here to fulfil his prophecy. He has the power and his willing to share it with me. He has come for me and I must go to him� she finished dramatically a proud glow on her face. �Is that why you�re leaving me. Cause this zoot person is offering you power. I thought you had changed ebony� he said almost shouting hoping, a glimpse of her former self would come back �But I guess I was wrong�. He sighed sadly. What was wrong with him it was happening to him all over again. Last time ebony had left him for ram. But he later found out that the cause of that act was because ram showed a DVD of him and amber kissing in the vr. But he couldn�t understand why ebony was doing it again. Was she telling the truth was this zoot guy really alive, was there a third party involved in this. �I don�t know who you are anymore� he finished finally coming out of his thoughts �You never knew me� she snapped �And I suppose you know zoot� jay said beginning to lose control of his sensibility �if he�s like what everyone says he is. Then I�m sorry to tell you ebony you don�t know him. No one knows him� . �well jay at least I know where I stand with zoot� she snapped at him again �and soon you�ll see what he can do. The whole city will see goodbye jay� jay watched bewildered as ebony barged him out of the way and turned the corner. A few seconds later he followed in the direction she had gone. He wasn�t going to let her go again he�d make her see sense. As the turned the corner he saw ebony walking up the streets. �ebony� jay shouted after her she stopped and turned around. he proceeded to walk up to her but a black car sped past him. he was quite startled he�d never seen any city kids drive cars. only the technos did, but this wasn�t a techno car. It as a full stretch black limo. It came to a halt next to ebony. The back door opened and ebony began to enter it. �ebony� jay shouted again ebony turned to look at jay. She smiled and got into the car. Jay raced to the limo he got to it before ebony could shut the door. He held the door open with his hands and peered in it. He gasped as he saw the face of another person. He had ghostly eyes, his face was pale; his expression cold and menacing. His brain started working trying to recall where he had seen that face before. Then he remembered way back when he was researching the cities history, he remembered seeing a picture of him. �So zoot was alive�. He then turned his attention to ebony who was sitting comfortably in the seats next to him. he was about to speak but he heard a bang! He hands immediately fell of the car door and he stumbled back and fell on the hard ground. He gently put his hand on his chest then brought it above his face and saw blood. There was another bang but it was from the limo door this time. It soon sped of after. �ebony� he choked and spat out blood. He tried to get up but couldn�t, the pain was too much. He had no choice but to lay on the cold damp ground. He looked upwards and stared at the stars. The stars where really beautiful in the night, this night especially. �really beautiful� he spoke softly until his vision became greyer until all he could see was darkness��. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I sat back on the black leather seat trying to warm up, it was a cold night and the limo didn�t offer much warmth. I wished I had gotten a jacket. I turned my gaze to stare out the dim windows, the buildings looked like a blur as the limo increased its speed and sped along the bumpy streets. I turned my gaze to zoot who was now leaning against the limo window asleep. A few minutes ago he had told me that we where going to a villa . I refrained that �grand villa� as he called it. It was in the south side of the city. I noticed a gun hanged on his trousers like what those cowboys in western movies did. Suddenly my thoughts turned to questions as to where he had uphold the gun he had used to kill jay. Let alone the bullets. I had thought all of them had been used or destroyed before the virus. But it seemed that zoot had found a way to get hold of them. or was that the brains of martin that had thought that up. I turned away from him and laid my head back on the seat. I shut my eyes. As soon as I did my throat tightened up it felt as though a bucket full of ice had been pushed down my throat. I began recalling the events that happened some moments ago. Jay falling to the ground, I shivered as goose bumps began to pop up on my skin. My eyes shut open, I wiped my eyes and began looking around the limo. I shivered again, I looked at the windows wandering where the breeze had come from but all the windows where shot. I snuggled further into the leather seats trying to get some warmth. Then he plagued my mind again. I pictured him lying still on the ground. I imagined him slowly loosing blood. Desperately trying to draw breath. his last breath. I shivered again at the thought �Cold ebony� I heard someone say to me. I shook out of my thoughts. I look to zoot to answer him but he was still asleep. But then who could have called me. I looked up to the front of the limo. The dark window that had been drawn up to give privacy at the back was now wound down to reveal the driver. �No� I replied slightly amused that someone had even bothered to ask how I was. Curiously I moved forward in my seat to get a better view of the driver. But I refrained in my tracks as I took in the full view of the driver.. I gasped �Spike� ~ ~ ~ �arghh� I screamed my voice evident of the pain I felt. I forced my eyes open to find my self not on the street anymore but lying on a bed. I took in my surroundings it seemed that I was back in the hotel. in my old room �Ahhh� I winced in pain again as I felt hands on my still fresh wound. my breathing was hard. my heart felt heavy as if it was sinking into my back. The part of my body that had afflicted the wound felt like it had been completely drained of the blood. The blood that once flowed richly through it. It looked and felt lifeless. I suddenly felt sick I rolled over to the side of the bed to throw up but instead spat out blood. �its okay jay take it easy. You�re going to be ok. Taisan and I are helping you now�. I winced as I felt the hands help me back properly on the bed. �mega� I murmured now seeing his face �Save your breath jay. You�re going to need it. Your lucky the shot only hit your shoulder� he spoke �how did I get here. What time is it. Where�s ebon�� I rambled a thousand questions suddenly popping up in my head �Its 5pm try not to talk� I then noticed taisan at the back of the room she began patching my wound with a clean cloth. I watch as someone else came in the room. She lifted my head and poured a bitter liquid down me. I immediately felt it react with my body. My heart eased and felt less heavy. I shifted on the bed, trying to keep my eyes opened I felt sleepy. �Its ok jay just try to rest� I heard taisan speak �No� I conjured. I had questions that needed answering. �I saw zoot he�s got ebony� I began to speak hoarsely but was interrupted by mega �Don�t worry about that I have my eye on them. I saw everything that happened� �what how� I asked confused �I�ve had my suspicions that there was another party involved with the techno�s. Some of the things ram did were peculiar. I too have a lot of questions that need answering. Some had become clearer yesterday. while cleaning some equipment in the hotel after the battle I came upon the surveillance tape. you see our surveillance systems in the hotel caught a figure going into one of the rooms in the hotel before the final battle. It was zoot. It also filmed ram going in there a while after. Proving my suspicion that he was working with someone else secretly. Zoot� mega spoke playing with his glasses �after the battle the camera also caught ebony going in there. she was in there for a while it�s a shame that there was no surveillance cameras in there to catch their conversation which I know would had proved very interesting. I immediately went to look for ebony, I was heading for the mall when I spotted her leaving the hotel. I followed her and she led me to you and then zoot. but if I knew they had a weapon I would have been swifter in getting to you. I never thought I would hear the sound of gunshots again. I had thought all of them had been gotten rid off� he moved to my side and continued his talk �someone else had been in that room as well they had been using our computer system. I checked our system log and it seems that the person had been using the special effects and graphic software. I don�t what for but I�m curious. I thought it could had been zoot but I don�t think he understands the language of computers. Whoever used the computer did some hi tech stuff. He had been slier than the others the camera�s just caught a glimpse of him living the hotel it seems that he didn�t want to be seen. I�..� �that doesn�t matter now mega� taisan interrupted �jay needs his rest you can ask brief him later� �yeah get some rest jay we�ll talk later� I watch as mega left the room. My eyes where heavy and all I wanted to was rest, but my mind wouldn�t rest. I thought back to all that had happened. I remembered how I could only watch as zoot shot me. how ebony looked at me fall her face expressionless. Its funny that you never know how much someone means to you until you are at the point that you may not see them again. But it was too late now ebony didn�t care she had clearly shown what she thought about me. I should have died ~ ~ ~ I pushed open the door and got out of the limo. We had finally reached our destination after stopping at various places. zoot had said he had people to talk too first. I had got out of the limo every time and followed him just to get away from spikes glares. Zoot had awakened out of his slumber as soon as I said his name �thank god�. And spike focused back to his driving but I knew he was looking at me through the rear mirror. I wondered how he was still alive finding out zoot was alive was a miracle and now spike nothing was as it seemed anymore. Finally I thought as I got out the vehicle it had been a long stretch to get here and I could finally stretch my legs properly. I took in the scenery. zoot was right to call this place �grand�. Grand was definitely the right word for it. It was beautiful it seemed to have two floors. And on the top floor there was a balcony. There was a lot of space around the building. The surrounding was very green from all the trees and grass. There were no other homes or people for miles. �welcome to your new home ebony� I turned my head to the sound of the voice and nearly brushed my face with spikes cheek. I moved back abruptly �I�m going to look around� I indicated to zoot �Ok but don�t go to far we have plans to discuss� he replied I left them and went round the back of the villa. I had to get away from spike his voice and hot glares where brining back too many memories. Memories I would like to forget. I felt cheap and cold every time I saw him. He made me sick. It was hard enough to feel safe when I was in the presence of zoot but now with spike I feared of what might happen. I had to keep my mind focus whenever I was with them. especially at night. I walked round the corner to the back of the villa. It was more spectacular than the front. There was a wide lake at the bottom of the garden that seemed to go on and on. It would be a great place for me to go swimming. I walked up to the edge of the lake. The scenery was beautiful. as I watched the sun sink into the water my thoughts began to move away from spike but it seemed that someone didn�t want me to forget... �nice isn�t it� I turned around quickly as I heard his voice once again. �You know if I didn�t know better I would think you were avoiding me� spike continued as he walked closer to join me at the edge of the lake �You got it one� I replied I didn�t like being around him and I wasn�t going to wait for him to reply back. I started to walk off in the other direction. �Going so quickly� he called out as I began to walk away, �we have a lot of catching up to do in a lot of areas� he spoke slyly and I almost ran but I kept my cool and walked fast to reach round the corner. As I did I rested on corner wall. I was shaking, my heart was racing. I felt sick like I was going to vomit but something kept pushing it back making me feel nauseas. I held back tears. I had told myself not along ago that I wasn�t going to cry for any one ever again and I was already going back on my word so soon. But I couldn�t help it there was always going to be some people that I would always find myself crying over for. Spike an un-forgetful memory seemed to be one of them. I wiped my face with my hands. I had to pull myself back together. I had to be strong it was the only way I was going to survive in this place. My breathing quickened when I heard footsteps coming my way. It was probably spike. I had to seem fearless or he would walk all over me or do more and I would�ve been damned if I let him touch me again. I got ready to pounce as the figure turned the corner. �whoa ebony calm down I�m not going to bite� �What the�� I said shocked standing down �ved! what the hell are you doing here� ~ ~ ~ This must be the most beautiful evening I�ve seen in ages,� Trudy said as she looked out into the city on the roof mall watching as the last glimpse of the sun started disappearing. �Yeah it sure is Trudy� amber replied holding baby bray in her hands �I really feel now that the city can be at peace. All our enemies have been defeated the city is no longer at risk now we can start building a better future�.� like bray would had done amber thought. a sad expression appearing on her face �What is it amber� Trudy asked catching the sad expression on her face �nothing really I�m just thinking about our lost friends. maybe we can search for them now� �Yeah we can� Trudy said reaching for ambers hand and squeezing it reassuringly �yeah look I�ve to go see someone Trudy� amber said suddenly �would you look after bray for a while� �yeah sure� Trudy replied taking bray into her hands �who are you going to see� she asked but her question was interrupted �Has any of you seen taisan� lex bellowed stepping onto to the roof �I haven�t seen her since the hotel� �No I haven�t seen her. Or jay for a matter of fact� Trudy replied �what about you ambe-� but amber was already hurryingly walking down the stairs to the mall. �He probably with ebony. Anyway I�m not asking about jay I�m asking about taisan� lex continued �well like I told you I haven�t seen her� she replied turning her attentions to bray �Lex I need to talk to you� Siva said reappearing on the roof �Not know siva I�m busy� �Well I�m not busy lex� Siva said turning going back down to the mall her body gesture telling lex to follow. He gave a growl and followed �What is it siva I�m in a rush� he poke as he came down to the mall �you�ve been rushing around since we got back from the hotel� �I had things to take care off� �would one of those things be taisan� lex stiffened �I saw the way you looked at her, held her hands like I wasn�t there� Siva continued �what�s going on lex� �look I haven�t got the time for 20 questions� �what you�re the one who�s playing all the games� siva said her voice getting high �I want to know where I stand with you. I mean as soon as taisan got back you leave me, ignore me like I�m nothing� �it�s not like that siva� lex replied taking her hand in his. �its just I haven�t seen her in a long time I thought she was dead I was worried�. �well you didn�t seem so worried when you where with me� she snapped �look siva. She�s my wife how do you expect me to act�.� �your wife. Your wife how dare you� siva said now shouting she raised her hands and whacked him hard on his face �well why don�t you go be with your �wife�� lex watched as Siva left the mall in a huff and him with a sore face. �ahh women� he moaned nursing his cheek ~ ~ ~ I woke up feeling better. I blinked back the sleep and yawned. my damaged shoulder was making my sleep uncomfortable. My shoulder still ached from the gunshot�. I could see speckles of blood on my bear chest from my wound. I tried to sit up on the bed but my shoulder was making it a hard job for me. I winced at the pain. �let me help you� I heard a female voice say as she helped me sit up �thanks� I said laying my head on the backboard of the bed I turned to the person I had expected to see taisan but instead I saw amber �amber what are you doing here� I asked surprised. I had thought all the mall rats had gone back to the mall to celebrate. �I was looking for you. I wanted to ask you some questions� she said sitting on the chair next to my bed. �But it looks like my questions will have to wait. It seems that you�ve got caught up in the middle of something. Taisan told me about ebony/zoot and the shooting. I still can�t believe that he�s alive I know this will lead to trouble. And ebony leaving with him like that I thought she really cared about you� �so did I� I replied coldly not wanting to be reminded of ebony �well wonders never cease� There was a pause. The silence felt uncomfortable being so close to amber was bringing back flashes of what had happened between us at the eco camp. I could tell she was uncomfortable because she was shifting in the chair. She caught my stare and we held each others for a period �so� we both said in unison breaking the silence. I blushed and we gave each other a brief smile �you go first� she said �I was just going to ask you what your questions were� �that doesn�t matter now� she replied I felt uncomfortable again. we were quiet the tension in the room was building up. �look jay we�ve never talked about what happened back at the eco camp� she started I stiffened at the mention of that day. �look what I want to say is I�m sorry it should have never happened.� she continued �it doesn�t matter� I said bitterly as I shifted in my bed �look I�m sorry for bringing it up� amber said sensing the bitterness in my voice �I shouldn�t have brought it up with all these things going on. I just wanted to apologise� �it wasn�t all your doing� I replied smiling at her reassuringly �anyway the past doesn�t matter anymore� �but ebony matters right� �what�� I replied shocked about her question. It was direct to say the list �You don�t have to explain to me about ebony jay. I�ve had my fare share of experiences with her� she leaned in closer to me �your better off without her she�s bad news� she continued. I suddenly snapped �what the hell do you know� I glared at her. How would she know if I�d be better with or without her. I didn�t even know �a lot jay a lot� she said sternly still holding my glare �you don�t know how she�s really is. How�s she�s ruined peoples life. my life� �look amber that was the old ebony not the one I knew� �no one knows her jay� amber said standing up getting angry �no one. but it seems that the old ebony is back and has gotten worse� I looked away from her to the ceiling all this talk about ebony was bringing memories back of what she had said to me before I was shot. Painful memories. There was silence again then I heard her speak �do you love her� I stiffened more at that question I didn�t reply. I turned to look at her and by the look in her eye she knew the answer. I watched her as she headed to the door she held the door with her hand and turned around and we stared at each other again �I�ll give you one piece of advice jay� she said �Never tell her� and shut the door. |