The sun fades

That girl with strange instincts had notified them that K.J awakened. How could she know? 'Lily is full of mysteries.' But it doesn't matter, she is on "their" side. A surprisingly small building away from the main "hospital", for a good reason. If K.J went out of control again, there wouldn't be a bigger problem down the line.

Those fuckers in the military refused to tell them where K.J is, even managed to fool Cain's sense of smell. 'It was dangerous. He should be put in quarantine.' All bullshit. 'The only reason I waited until now is because James needed to rest.'

Otherwise, rampaging through this place until finding Kyrie wouldn't be an option but a reality. Looking at James, he is way better than he was days ago. He is with his arms arms, bandaged legs, and many more bandages all around his body.

His regeneration and endurance were off the charts, healing in a matter of days. 'Although I doubt he is going to heal completely from the damage…' The electric scars from his own "awakening" start to get itchy.

'Those flames aren't a joke to put someone like James in such a dire situation.' This begs the question of why they were so easily extinct by lightning. Maybe they were weakened because their source, their fuel, was taken away.

There is no way to know, not even K.J understood the power he had before vanishing and being put in that place. 

Without effort, they enter the building. A small crew of doctors and nurses there, checking on a bunch of monitors, no doubt to check on K.J. Someone on the staff steps ahead, stopping them "Wait. Who are you? This is off-limits. You can only enter here with the proper permission—"

"Didn't care, didn't ask. We are here for our friend, K.J. Don't play dumb with us." To back him up, Cain steps ahead, his face blank as a sheet of paper. The guy backs off, swallowing dry.

"Y-you don't have the clearance, the Lieutenant Colonel—" Cain starts to walk ahead of them. His bone claws sprouted out of his fingers as an ominous aura filled the room. They are not in the mood for this type of stuff.

"We don't care nor want to hear about this. Guide us to our friend, or we will make things our way. Do you want to deal with us?" This time, James stepped ahead. Even with bandaged arms and wounds all over his body, his size still is threatening.

And this is one of the few times he is truly pissed off about something, adding in a more threatening factor. 'Honestly, being so forceful is not up my alley, but K.J disappeared for a week and Lily came back, suddenly knowing where he is and how to go meet him.'

Trusting a child is a bad sign, but this girl always had this eerie and strange aura about her. "We… We will show you him, but please, don't hurt us." The guy on the staff breaks, it was fast. Strange would be if they put more resistance with both Cain and James there.

"So, show us where he is at this moment. We don't want to wait anymore." Nodding, the man goes upstairs, they follow suit. It doesn't matter if they call the soldiers or not. Cain should be more than enough to start a slaughter and get rid of everyone.

That boy Konrad would be problematic, but nothing he and James couldn't take care of, even if the redhead is not in his best form. Going up, they find themselves in a white corridor, full of empty rooms. 

The man walks hastily, stopping at a room with a few medics and doctors outside, almost getting inside the room. A large glass panel is there to observe who is inside the room, but probably not being visible to the ones inside it. 

K.J is there, Lily right beside him, talking about something. The medic and staff threatened to enter the room. "Hey, what do you guys think you are doing?"

The metalhead calls their attention, making them stop. "Who do you think you are? Why did you bring them here—" An old man calls their attention. Without a sliver of patience, Cain advances, appearing right before him. 

Out of the blue, the "barghest" takes hold of the old man's neck, his claws almost cutting at the outer layer of the skin. "Shut up. You keep us in the dark about our friend for a week. If you don't want to die, shut up and get out of the day."

The old man is thrown on the ground without ceremony or a second thought placed on his safety. Disregarding everyone else, Cain enters the room. Ignoring the other personnel, they too enter the K.J's room.

"You guys are fast. How are you?" K.J asks. His face was tired and lithe, looking ill and unhealthy. Machines plugged into him, probably life support. How did he go from healthy to ill in a week? 

"We… are okay, but you, K.J? How are you?" A weak and wry laugh comes from the fake redhead. Mockery, pain, and sorrow there, intertwined and the same in the tone. Silent tears fall from his eyes.

"I don't know, but I think I have less than a week to live, right now. I've felt as if every cell of mine was set on fire, you know? I think it has to do with my powers. I never got control over them, and I think they are now eating me away."

The pressure accumulated and exploded forward. The build-up was always there, but they all failed to notice. Like a cheap plot device of a cheap novel. Lily holds him close, while James looks away. "I got the doctor, Amelia, to analyze your blood… it became supercharged with something and started to degenerate itself… I think it is happening to you. You may be right… your body can't control your power."

An unexpected answer, coming from Cain of all people. It makes sense for them to get their blood test, they did join the militaries. A small laugh comes from K.J, again. "I dreaded this moment, you know? Being put in a hospital bed, being so defenseless… at least all of you are here. I won't be alone, thank you."

'I won't be alone, thank you.' Words twist themselves into metaphorical knives, stabbing his chest wildly. Many didn't have the same privilege of dying beside his friends and family. Although his father is not there, they are. They count…

  "Well, here we are. Do you guys want to talk about something?" His voice is weak, but still trying to hold itself together. Lily holds him tighter… they should not dwell in the end but the time they still can share with each other.

"Do you know that soldier, Mary? Are you sure she is not your girlfriend? She too is worried sick about you. You left quite an impression." Due to the sickly pale skin, K.J blushes like a tomato.

Even Lily looked expectantly at him. "It is nothing like that. We were just some good friends!" His voice goes up a pitch. "W-well… since we are here, I want to apologize. I'm sorry for hurting you… James."

The redhead giant takes a deep breath, staring Kyrie right in the eyes. "Don't worry about this. I did to help you, I'm sure you would do something similar for me too. We are friends." They share a coy smile.

Looking at Cain, he stands in a corner, sulking. Don't talk if you don't have anything to add, hm. "Say, what are you guys going to do in the future? The smell of forest has been growing lately, I'm sure Cain told you, guys, about it, right?"

They all nod. "We plan to leave this place soon… the plan was to take you with us, but it appears we won't be able to." A sad laugh leaves his mouth. It appears life had other plans for K.J…

"I see. So, I have a favor to ask." Those words peek the attention of every one of them, even Cain looking attentively at Kyrie. "Whatever you guys do, can you take Lily with our group? Keep her safe?"

The air in Spencer's lungs vanishes as if the question itself was a punch thrown to his chest. What a hard favor to ask… but he risked his life for her, and… is quite fond of the girl. "We… will do our best."

From K.J's side, the little girl sobs, driving her head on his chest, trying to hide her tears. Taking care of a child is a hassle, but if it is the last wish of his dying friend… this is something he can agree to, hell, they all can agree on it.

"Alright, we will take care of Lily," James speaks in an oddly reassuring and kind tone. Cain on the other hand, just nods, not muttering a word. What an unreasonable, but understandable, wish to make on your deathbed…

Patting Lily, Kyrie tries to make her look at him. "Don't worry, Lily. They will take good care of you. I know this." The words are said with a gentle and kind tone, however, all they do is make the little girl cry louder.

"You… are my friend, mister K.J. I don't want you to go… not after papa, mum and… and…" K.J hugs her, just staying there.  What a shit moment he decided to start dying… you can't truly know this type of thing, yet…. if only it appeared later on…

"You guys made quite a hassle, heh? Could've at least invited us to the party if you wanted a bang." A familiar voice— Anthony's voice echoing from behind the door. Tensing up, Spencer turns around to stare at the door, Cain moving to his side.

James stands back to shield both K.J and Lily. "Oh, hey hey. Don't jump the gun. We are not here to cause problems." Stepping in, Anthony is not in his military uniform, but rather in social clothes, carrying a box with food and drinks. "You guys made quite an entrance, but we have no way to stop any of you right now without making a bigger mess."

Sighing, the Major steps out of the door, making way for someone else, Mary. "So the Lieutenant Colonel decided to overlook this once. We brought some food and drinks for you kids— Can you even eat, Kyrie?"

With a groan, K.J shakes his head. "I'm not hungry, although I cannot say the same for the others."

The Major picks up a can, which both himself and K.J instantly recognize. "Hey, Spencer, they even got an energy drink too. You can have it, I'm not in the mood for drinking, anyway."

"Your riddance, then. Hey, Major, can you pass me the drink?" Anthony tosses it at him. Without effort, the metalhead grabs the can. Looking to his side, Cain stands as if he saw a ghost. Unmoving and focusing on the door of the room. Looking at the same spot he is staring at, there is nothing, just the door. "Are you okay?"

"I… yes. I guess I'm just tired."

"C'mon. We all have to talk with K.J, you sulking in a corner won't do."Opening the can, Spencer walks towards the bed, to stand by his dying friend's side.