EPISODE XI: LIGHTNING

Lilith, Kirina, and I were waiting for Ophelia to finish with her phone call. She thought she might know someone that could help us find Lightning.

Finally, she hang up.

"I've got nothing," Ophelia said. "Absolutely nothing. This has never happened to me before."

"Where was his last known residence?" I asked Kirina, who was holding the files.

"A small town in Maine," Kirina replied. "But it's been completely abandoned.

"We should start there," I said. "Maybe he left some hint as to where he went."

The four of us went out to our Skybikes (we had bought Ophelia one just after we arrived in New Chicago), and began flying towards Fog, Maine.

* * *

The Three knew it was almost time. They would win, and what they wanted would be what happened. The Roses couldn't stop it even if they wanted it to.

* * *

Lightning was at the store. He needed more food. The cans were running out, and when that happened, he would have to go to another town. That wouldn't do. Not at all.

He had to find another way to get more food so that nobody discovered him.

* * *

The four of us rode our Skybikes for four days before we finally arrived in Fog. As Kirina had said, the place was completely deserted.

"Where did he live?" I asked as we walked through the town.

However, I didn't need to. Just ahead of us, I saw a person turn and begin walking in front of us. We quietly ran up to the person.

"Excuse me," I said. "Do you know where Lightning Rose lived before everybody left here?"

The person turned around, and I immediately recognized his short brown hair and blue eyes from the picture. I pushed him over and held him completely still except for his face, and walked over to him.

"Finally," I said. "We're not going to hurt you. We just want to ask you some questions, and then, you can do whatever you want."

"Fine," he said. "What do you want to know?"

* * *

Lightning had lived in the town of Fog his entire life. At an early age, he had discovered that he had the power to create portals to another realm. He had used these portals to get rid of everybody that had anything to do with the town, and he soon lived by himself. Nobody had discovered him until the four of us came looking for him.

* * *

"So," I said. "You have no idea where we came from?"

"Well," Lightning replied, "I can make these portals. Maybe if we go through, we'll find something."

"Let's try," I said.

I released him, and he used his fingers to cut a ractangle in the air. He entered first, followed by Kirina, Lilith, Ophelia, and finally, me. We walked forward a little ways, taking it all in.

The sky was red, and the world we had entered was barren except for a single speck on the horizon.

"Let's go that way," I said, pointing towards the speck.

We began walking.

TO BE CONTINUED
MARCH 7