She measured the distance until he disappeared, counting down and just like that, he was gone. Drake and Kama led the chase, Naya and Kazuya in the rear. As they got there, she felt how he'd known what to do and where to do it.
Heat came from something she couldn't see. The closer she got the more definite the feeling, the clearer the shimmer. There was a wide dish starting just above Kama's head and ending just above her ankles.
She didn't have time to think about it.
Jin fell out the disk holding Paige like a baby.
Both soaked in blood. Jin the most.
Paige looked… malnourished was an understatement. She looked like she needed to be given a dollar a day.
Her eyes danced in all directions as if trying to get her bearings in the sunlight.
Naya did a double take.
They were so green they stole the moment. Paige got a grasp of her surroundings before snapping directly to Kazuya and screaming.
"Close the gate!"
"No!" Jin yelled.
Kama stuck his head into the gap and pulled out quick, eyes wide. Kazuya threw his scrap book down and spread his arms.
The heat around the door shrunk.
Kama pulled his head back, sticking his chest out. The buttons on his blazer stretched until they almost popped. The white shirt underneath accommodated fully. The stretching of elastic caught her ear. Then he stopped, pushing his head forwards.
Kama let out a roar, there was a ripple, a pop and a wind so strong her eyes couldn't shut. She was glued, helpless. Concrete cracked; glass shattered along with her hearing. She hugged her face forcing shut her eyes and ears. The triple effect dug into her brain.
The gate closed; the heat dissipated.
Kama's yell bulldozed past and continued ahead. A powerful gust, lifting rocks and cars. It flung them, grabbing groin first, lifting, forcing her to flail and twist before landing on her hands and knees. Naya rubbed dry eyes, staring at the destruction of the 'toad'.
The sky, the solar system, the galaxy, the universe couldn't match the insignificance that encased her being. Charges weren't the only things that could kill. That fat man had made her horse disappear with a flick of the wrist and Kama had just… it didn't have a description.
Kama closed his mouth, all calmed.
It took a moment, but she found her bearings and was the first to help Jin. Drake went for Paige.
Jin's eye was swelling shut. He shivered trying to stand and shake her off, it wasn't happening.
Was it ego? Or just her? The thought was a spear to the diaphragm.
Jin pointed at Drake glaring with his good eye.
"Get away from her!"
"Jin what-"
"GET AWAY FROM HER, THAT'S NOT PAIGE!"
The statement struck Drake like a ton of bricks. His immediate reaction? Holding Paige tighter.
"Just let go of her!"
Drake's jaw tightened; chest puffed up.
She'd have let go, long ago.
The green of 'Paige's' eyes bled into the air instead of glowing.
"NO." Drake said finally "You're not making sense!"
"Drake, what colour are Paige's eyes?" Jin asked suddenly up, elevating her status from wheelchair to a crutch.
Vindication.
"You know this! They're that shiny golden brown. We used to joke about them."
Idiot!
Jin rolled his eyes and gave him a meaning full look. Finally, he lifted her head. Paige scowled. There was a coldness in her stare that ripped through Naya.
Drake let go as if burnt.
Paige stood, lopsided, but on her own.
"Jin? What's going on?"
Drake rubbed his arm.
"Okay listen." Jin said before taking a pause.
He stared as if working some complex equation, agonising over choosing the right words to give while playing the scene in his head. It was all being summed up, air filling his lungs, a countdown played in Naya's mind until…
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Up Next:
Yamamoto Jin
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🕳️ Next time on Jin's War: A Lost Paige…
Through shimmering nothingness, Jin expected light, peace, maybe even answers. Instead, he found stone walls, choking heat, and a stairway that led to nowhere sane.
But when screams echo and a giant drags Paige deeper into this impossible world, Jin's fury breaks its cage. Gravity itself seems to bend, and the chase becomes more than survival—it becomes war.🔥 Keep the War burning!
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