* TwEnTy * Gone

A Chapter by Allison

This is in Koki's point of view, once again.

My brother. My twin. Dead.
I guess he could not get full control of himself back. The sound of running feet got my attention. Glancing quickly to the door, I saw Rio run away most likely to another base. I fell to my knees, trying to take everything in and understand it all.
Kei. Gone forever. His last words were for me.
"She's yours now," he said with a last smile full of tears.
I punched the ground in frustration, not caring if I messed up my fingers.
Rio. Not dead. Still running away like a coward.
Someone's shouting alerted my mind back to reality. I looked up to see Eeris close to tears yelling at me. I noticed her gaze fall on Kei then Taryn. That does not help her current situation; she cried at the mess.
"Taryn's not dead," I informed her, grinding my teeth together.
"What happened?" Eeris asked, trying to stop her tears.
"Rio stabbed Taryn and possessed Kei. Kei regained some control . . . enough to shoot himself," I replied, my voice getting lower at Kei's part. "Where's Steve and Dan?"
At that, Eeris burst into tears again.
I feared the worst.
"Steve was shot . . . protecting me," she answered barely audible. "Dan's outside . . . crying . . . "
We were frozen in silence.
"We should help Taryn," Eeris stated, clearing her tears away quickly.
I stood up and moved to Taryn.
Eeris followed and observed Taryn's wound. "She's fine. We'll need to take her to a hospital," she said, regaining her voice's strength.
I picked Taryn up and ordered Eeris to grab Kei's weapons. We walked out of the room and through the front door. In the front yard, it was a blood bath. Dan was weeping over Steve. I turned my head from the scene and closed my eyes. As I opened them, I saw Eeris tell Dan what happened inside. Dan's face shot up to look at me holding an injured Taryn. Quickly he ran to me and ordered, "Let's go to a hospital, before you lose her, too."
We walked as fast as we could to the nearest hospital. I ordered the people in my language to help her, while Dan and Eeris watched quietly, understanding nothing being said. The doctors fixed Taryn up and settled her in a room with two beds, but only Taryn occupied one. The three of us sat in her room in silence. Finally, Dan spoke, "I think I'll go see if Tai and Shylo are done with their mission."
"I'll come with you," Eeris suggested, following him out.
I sat in the chair, looking at Kei's weapons in my hands. Then I looked at Taryn, breathing calmly. The doctors said that they gave her medicine to sleep for three days, enough time for the wound to heal nicely.

During the three days, I sat in her room, slept in her room, and sometimes I would go take walks to think. Kei's suicide playing in my head over and over again. Now I know how Taryn feels, having a part of family die in front of your eyes.

The day she was supposed to be woken up around eight at night, Dan and Eeris came back in the morning carrying a bag.
"Were you able to find them?" I asked, sitting on a chair and expecting Tai to come running in to his sister in a second.
Dan shook his head solemnly.
"They already headed somewhere else?" I questioned.
"They were there . . . " Eeris replied quietly.
"But they died in a fire," Dan finished her sentence. "We found their remains, and here are their weapons." Dan dumped the contents of the bag onto the empty bed in Taryn's room. Shylo's bow, arrows, and knife fell out, and then Tai's pistols and katana fell out after them. This information hurt me inside, but it will hurt Taryn even more. I buried my face in my hands, stressed.
"Should we tell her, after they wake her?" I asked.
"If we don't, and she finds out herself, she'll be pretty angry at us," Eeris answered logically.
I sighed heavily," Of course."

Once the doctors woke her up, Taryn looked around at us hazily. They tested her and made sure she was okay then left us alone. Taryn looked at us expectantly; she wanted us to tell her all the damage from the battle three days ago.
I started, "You know what Kei did?"
She nodded silently.
"Steve also died," I continued and looked at Dan and Eeris.
Dan gripped the bag of weapons tightly. He was afraid to tell her about her brother and best friend. Eeris looked to the window to avoid saying anything.
"And . . . " I looked back at Taryn, "They went to find Tai and Shylo to bring them here." I pointed at the two of them and nodded at them to tell her what they saw.
"We found the mansion burned to the ground," Dan decided to be the one to talk. "We called out for them just in case they were still around, hiding maybe. But we didn't get an answer, so we checked the remains of the mansion. We eventually found their weapons. When we looked a few feet farther from where the weapons were, we found two burnt corpses. We took their weapons and brought them here," Dan finished, regaining his composure and expecting a reaction.
We all sat in silence with the three of us watching Taryn intently.
She breathed steadily, looked toward us calmly, then turned to look out the window. Dan put the bag on the empty bed again and pulled Eeris to walk out of the room with him.
I sat on the edge of Taryn's bed and put my hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry . . . about everything. We decided to tell you now, because it would be better than you finding out yourself and getting angry at us for not saying anything to you."
"I know," she whispered, still looking at the window.
"I'll leave you alone," I said, standing up and heading to the door.
She mumbled, "Okay," and I walked out.
Dan and Eeris were sitting on a bench in the hallway and talking silently. I sat next to them and pondered. I wondered if Taryn was crying or thinking through everything that has been said or happened. Maybe she was doing both of those. I did not know if I should go in and comfort her more or not. Kei's last words repeated in my head.
I closed my eyes tightly and put my hands at my temples, thinking:
Why did he do that?! He could have just killed me, and maybe Rio would have let him have control again and deal with the memory of killing his brother. That would not be as bad as your own brother killing himself in front of you, would it? Or maybe they are the same feeling, because either way someone dies!
If he was alive, and I died, he could be possessed again and kill someone else. Maybe he thought that through, before he killed himself . . . "

After a few hours passed, Dan and Eeris left to go get some food at a nearby shop. I decided to go see how Taryn was doing. I walked to the door, hoping she would be sound asleep or awake and okay. I would not know what to do, if I saw her crying.

I opened the door and saw the unexpected.

The room was empty. No Taryn. No bag of weapons.
Her bedsheets were flapping from the wind coming from the window. The window, which was now opened. She ran away? Needed air? Scared someone would walk in on her crying?
I don't know, but she was gone.

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