Work Text:
The reason Cole couldn’t sleep tonight was different from the reason for the last six days.
Back then it was because he was in shock that he had gotten his body back. Tonight it was because he and Kai had broken open the bathroom door to find Lloyd coughing up blood on the floor.
He recalled how they heard someone scolding someone else but couldn’t make out what they were saying. He recalled how Kai and himself walked to the bathroom door and when Kai asked what was happening inside they heard the window opening. So after Cole smashed the door open they were greeted by a horrible sight, one that he couldn’t get out of his mind in the dead of the night.
He tossed and turned in his bed, trying to think of a better picture though that task was in vain and near-impossible. Kai, Wu and Misako were in the hospital with Lloyd, waiting for him to wake up, Nya and Zane were out on an investigation on who attacked him and Jay was guarding the Bounty. Cole was allowed to rest as he was still getting used to his body and might cause more harm than good. Besides, it was important that at least one ninja get enough rest in case of an emergency in the morning.
What scared him was that the person who almost murdered Lloyd was still out there, probably plotting against the others. What other brutal actions would he take? Would he actually succeed in killing someone? Look at what he did to the Ultimate Spinjitzu Master.
After a few more dreadful minutes passed, the sudden alarm jolted him out of bed. He started panicking. What happened all of a sudden? Was the intruder back? Once he settled down he realised it was actually his phone ringing. It took him a couple of seconds for his eyes to adjust to the bright screen but he managed to see the picture of Kai grinning so he picked up the call.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Cole. Lloyd’s awake. The thing is, his throat’s too damaged for him to talk and the doctors doubt he’ll ever be able to again.”
Cole’s heart dropped as he heard of Lloyd’s condition. “Man, that’s… that’s horrible, Kai.”
“Anyways,” Kai continued. “I was wondering if you wanted to visit him. He needs a lot of cheering up. He’s so miserable right now.”
“I’ll be there.”
“Just don’t bring the whole Bounty with you. Make sure you aren’t recognised by anyone as the person who attacked Lloyd could be anywhere. I advise you rent a car. Too many people take public transport, even at this time. We might need to use it for the next few days anyways.”
Cole groaned. “It will take me a while,” he replied. “But I’m coming.” With that, he ended the call. His phone automatically displayed the current time, which was around three in the morning. He got off his bed and left the room. After informing Jay of what Kai told him, he left the Bounty once the lightning ninja landed it.
“Tell Lloyd I’ll visit him tomorrow!” Jay said.
He used his phone to guide him to the nearest rent-a-car station. It was a dark night, darker than usual. It was eerie. The wind was pretty strong, but the trees were still. In fact, everything was still. Only he was moving, and he was all alone. Or so he thought, until he heard someone call his name from behind. He looked in the direction of where the noise came from but nobody was there.
“Hello?” He didn’t get a response. It was probably just the wind. But the voice sounded so loud, and somewhat familiar.
He tried to shrug it off and carried on with his route. He finally reached his destination and luckily for him, he was the only customer at the time. The employee who lent him the car looked too sleepy to recognise Cole.
As he wrote down his details, he heard someone walk behind him, probably another customer. The problem was, the footsteps were getting too loud, and Cole could suddenly feel someone’s breath on his neck. He immediately turned around to see… no one.
“Did someone else just enter?” Cole asked the worker.
“No. Just you and me.”
“But I just heard footsteps, and someone was literally breathing on my neck.”
“You must be delusional. Now do you want a car or not?”
The car was huge and black in colour, something of Cole’s style. Once he was done with the paperwork, he hopped in and started driving to the hospital where Lloyd was being treated.
The in-built GPS led the car through a secluded forest, one which Cole wasn’t very familiar with. He didn’t like it, especially after the incidents where he felt someone’s presence when no one was there. He was certain someone was stalking him but there was no proof. Maybe he was still a little shaken after seeing Lloyd.
But then again, it could be the person who had invaded the Bounty earlier. Cole was getting increasingly paranoid as the minutes passed. Someone was following him, he was certain. Suddenly, he heard a huge bang coming from the roof of the car, like a heavy weight had been dropped on it, matching the car’s shakes. He immediately hit the brakes and got out of the car.
“That’s it, I know you’re there!”
He couldn’t see anyone but there was a huge dent on the top of the car, which meant that something had certainly fallen on top of it. He called out again.
“Show yourself and fight like a man! Who are you?”
He ran around pointlessly in search of the mysterious person who had scared him to death so many times, but they were nowhere. Cole got back inside the car and locked it under the illusion that it would stop people from attacking him. He dialled Kai’s number and started blabbering the moment he picked up.
“Kai, I was on my way to the hospital but I'm certain someone's following me. What do I do?”
“Fight him, obviously!” Kai's voice buzzed.
“I can't find him anywhere!”
“What? What do you mean you can't…” Kai took a pause. “Are you sure someone's there? Maybe you're just being paranoid.”
Cole sighed in response. “Maybe… maybe I am. I'm sorry for calling you, Kai. I'll be there soon.”
“Sure, whatever.”
Cole looked out of the window to see the forest once more. He expected to see nothing, but instead was met with the sight of someone he'd last expect. He screamed and dropped the phone.
“Cole? Is everything okay there?” Kai was met with no response as Cole kept staring out the window in disbelief.
It was Morro, fully human again, holding a knife in one hand and the other balled into his fist at the window as if to punch it.
“Morro!” Cole gasped.
Morro said nothing back. Instead, he punched open the window and started to enter the car.
Cole punched him in the face, causing blood to burst out of his nose. Morro struck his knife in return, cutting part of Cole's arm. Holding it in pain, Cole grabbed Morro's neck and threw him out the window he broke.
He quickly reversed the car, and ran it over Morro. He didn’t stop to see if it killed him. He had to get to the others.
“Cole? Cole!” Kai's voice could still be heard from under the seat, as the call had never ended. Cole picked his phone upand replied to his friend.
“Kai,” he gasped. “You won't believe what happened to me.”