A fic challenge, chapter 2
By shadows/of/flame
Last chapter! Yeah, a short story I know XP
She felt violated. Deceived. Idiotic most of all.
But was it her fault that Jak let a lock-melting monster loose?
What could she do now? Torn was waiting, but she had do calm down first.
She gulped in huge mouthfuls of fresh air, trying hard not to panic. She had no bruises, no marks to prove what had been done to her, and truth be told, she didn't WANT to tell anyone.
After she had married Torn, for a little while, she had believed that everything would be OK. That no one could ever hurt her again like Jak had.
But as it turned out, she was wrong, and he still had ways of hurting her.
Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks, trying to calm down instantly failing. She was too scared, too broken inside to bother, and she fumbled with her keys, standing up and stumbling out into the bright world of sunlight.
Keira stood still for a few moments, savouring the feeling of sunlight bouncing on her skin, and for the first time in a few hours, she felt content.
And safe.
The tear trails on her cheeks slowly dried, and her puffy, red eyes almost returned to normal.
She then realised she had to focus on getting to the stadium before the races started, and slowly made her way to her car, unlocking the door and sliding in.
Keira hoped, with all her might, that she'd make it.
0o0o0
Torn wondered if something had happened to Keira. Was she safe? Was she hurt?
Jak and Ashelin could only watch as he paced restlessly backwards and forwards - he was really worried about her, and for good reason.
When Jak and Ashelin kissed in the desert, the news spread fast.
Keira and Torn were left high and dry, their friends all more focused on the new "royal" couple than on the welfare of two of their best friends.
Keira had drunk herself into a stupour, no longer caring what the world thought of her, and the tale, almost more well known than the kiss, was how the ex-commander of the Krimzon Guard and the Freedom Guard had saved her.
The pair were certain that Torn was about to go out and get her, when a sleek purple car pulled up, and Keira jumped out, a small grin on her face.
"Hey guys! I'm here!" she said rather cheerfully, slipping on her facade.
"Keira!" the three exclaimed, and Keira just nodded slowly, smiling.
"Did I miss the race? Am I on time?" she said rather fearfully, looking around, and wondering if anyone was mad with her.
Torn hesitated slightly before enveloping her in his arms, burying his face in her hair.
Little did they know a dark shadow was lying in wait outside, watching, waiting...
"We wouldn't have started without you." Torn murmured into her hair, and Keira sighed thankfully.
"Should I be scared that you're hugging me?" Keira teased, and Torns face darkened, letting go of her immediately.
She giggled at his serious, poker-like face, and looked to Jak and Ashelin.
"Ready to race?" Jak asked, his hands leaving Ashelins waist to secure the goggles clasped around his neck.
"Yeah, just gimme a minute or two to prepare." Keira replied, fastening her goggles around her eyes, and popped the hood of her vehicle to see if everything was in working order.
"Looks like I'm fine. You guys?" she asked, putting the hood down again and sitting on it, a shiver running down her spine as Torns lips caressed the nape of her neck.
"ARE YOU READY TO GET RACING YET! COME ON!"
"Rayn." the blond hero sighed, shooing Ashelin off to her own car.
A brunette and khaki bundle zoomed into the room, shooting glares at the four racers.
"Hurry up you four! Goodness knows that you're going to hold us all up! Oh, wait. Too late for THAT. GET GOING!" she shrieked.
Torn sighed, giving his wife one last kiss before jumping into his zoomer.
"Lets see if you're as good on the track as you are in bed." Torn murmured huskily over the channels, and he could see Keira blushing.
"Same goes for you." she replied cheekily before the racers were released, and they drove slowly up into a starting position.
"Ladies and gentleman! Welcome to the sixteenth annual Kras City championships! I am your host, GT Blitz, and my assistant this year (as all the others have been run over by drunk drivers) is Pecker!"
Pecker ruffled his feathers at the mere thought of being run over - it was needless to say he was going to take more care of himself than the Blitzes other sidekicks.
Jaks eyes narrowed as curvy girls started dancing sexily around the cockpit - he could see one with a "Team Jak" jacket on, and although she was relatively pretty, he would have rathered Daxter take him over if needed at a pitstop.
"Each person has a pitstopper, ready to change whatever may be needed in pitstop. They have "Team BlahBlah" stitched on the back, so it shouldn't be hard to find your mechanic. The winner receives this special little vial courtesy of Rayn, and a couple of thousand Precursor orbs. Now, as long as everyone has food, are you ready to see some action?"
The crowd cheered, banners and ballons flying high in the air, and "We love you Jak! Go for the gold!" signs were easily visible among the section of the stadium dedicated to Jaks supporters.
"The course will see these 9 racers - Jak, Torn, Sig, Kleiver, Jinx, Keira, Ashelin, Razor, and that orange haired guy, racing against each other in full car combat whilst trying to get to the finish line first - but getting there in a coffin first doesn't count folks! Oh, and er, Leaper Limited will take no responsibility for deaths, injuries or other mutations while racing. All complaints taken to the complaints desk, will be ignored and nothing will be done about it. Don't expect us to cover hospital fees."
A cackle came from the lips of the shadow that had been following Keira ever since he had left her the first time - no reimbursment for deaths? Looked like Torn was going to suffer just a little then...
He snuck into a sideroom, quickly grabbing what he needed, and snuck out, past GT Blitz and the revving racers, down towards the end of the track.
"I'll have the last laugh this time, oh don't worry!"
0o0o0
"Ready, set..."
Jak fiddled nervously with the steering wheel, a burning feeling telling him something in his gut.
But what?
Something bad was going to happen, but again, he had no idea what, and how to prevent it. He had asked Dark to take care of any people trying to sabotage the Haven racers - speaking of which, where was Dark? And why had Keira looked so happy, yet so upset when she came into the garage?
"Light... I think something bads going to happen."
'You're not the only one that thinks that, I can assure you.' the Light eco entity replied. 'If Dark does his job properly, there should be no problems.'
"What was up with Keira? The smile on her face was fake, I wonder if anyone else could tell."
'Maybe she can tell us after we win the poison antidote.'
Jak nodded, and just after Light finished speaking, "GO!" was heard over the loudspeakers, and he slammed his foot down, putting the pedal to the medal.
He zoomed in front, and Light promised to keep an eye out for any fishy behavior.
0o0o0
Torn had the same feeling in his gut. And he didn't like it.
He wanted to keep in constant contact with Keira over the headsets, but he didn't want to baby her. So maybe every 10 minutes or so would be ok.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jak take too sharp a turn, and took the opportunity to take the lead. The crowd roared - whether with anger or pleasure - and Torn blocked his ears to the sound of their voices.
He could see three cars behind him - purple, orange, and green.
'Purple is Keira. Orange is Ashelin... then... who has a green car?'
Jak had red. He had blue. Keira had purple. Sig had silver. Kleiver had brown. Ashelin had orange. Jinx had white. Razor had some stripey number, and the orange haired guys was gold. So who--?
The shadow sneered as he drew closer to Keiras car, fiddling around for the bag he had taken out of the storeroom.
Torn immediately turned on the radio headset to all his companions channels.
"Who has a green car?" he asked.
"Green...?" Jak replied.
"Yup."
"... oh shit, it may be a sabotager. Dark should be on the lookout for those, where the hell is he?"
Torns brow furrowed. He stayed int he lead, but he was constantly checking back on the green car.
"Keira - report!"
Keira was in a panic as the green car kept brushing up against hers.
"I- it keeps sabotaging my car! I can't see in the windows, but--"
Dark chuckled as he pulled out the bazooka.
"I win Keira. I win!"
Keira screamed, and Torn crossed the finish line just as he heard the explosion.
He fumbled for his seatbelt, ripping it off and getting out of the car in a blind panic.
Ribbons were placed around his neck, and he was given the orbs and the antidote, but he thrust them in Jaks hands before sprinting back around the corner to where he had heard the explosion.
"KEIRA!" he screamed, seeing the ruins of her car strewn around the track.
"KEIRA!"
He ignored Jak and Ashelin running after him, their footsteps echoing around the stadium. The crowd was dead silent, the cheering had ceased, and Rayn, Pecker and GT Blitz wore horrified expressions on their faces.
He didn't hear Jak and Ashelin screaming for him to stop, he just ripped off his helmet and started searching through the debry with both hands, refusing to believe.
Refusing to believe.
...that she was dead.
...that she was really gone.
After a while, he found her, lying with a halo of blood around her. An emerald eye slowly opened, and she half smiled.
"...you...won." she whispered, and Torn took her gently in his arms, uncharacteristic tears running down his cheeks.
"Yeah... we did it Ker... We won..." he whispered, brushing a blood-stained lock of hair from her face.
She smiled weakly, wrapping her arms around his neck, and wincing in pain.
Her breathing was ragged and uneven, even Torn could see that.
"I loved... the way you made me feel... just knowing that I could come home to see your face... made living all the more worthwhile."
"Come on! We can heal you... you'll be fine!" the ex-KG said pathetically, but with her horrendous wounds, and probably internal bleeding, he knew she wouldn't live much longer.
She closed her eyes, whispering to him once more.
"I love you Torn. Don't forget it."
Jak and Ashelin felt their hearts break as sobs filled the stadium, some of the crowd also crying silently.
"...I love you too."
And Dark snickered as he was lead away by the guards.
He knew that he had done his job, and hurt all those who knew Keira.
"It'll be our little secret, princess." he hissed, licking his lips.
"Our little secret."
Sucker for tragedy, I am. This made me so sad... tell me what ya think!