The morning passed and the two girls still remained in the same position. What exactly was someone supposed to do when they encountered an alien suffering from amnesia? They knew they couldn't tell anyone, less they look crazy or Kris be taken away, so it'd have to remain a secret, which wouldn't be too hard right now, since Mina's father wouldn't be home for at least two more days. One of the problems they currently faced was school tomorrow. With only one week left, Mina couldn't really just ditch. Although, classes really were no longer relevant now that finals were over. Still, in their town almost everyone knew everyone else's business and if one student was absent, the real reason would be found out before the end of the school day.    

As the girls continued to worry and make plans, Kris continued to roam the house freely; looking, touching and occasionally smelling around the home. He had never seen so many unique items. Every once and a while an item was so foreign to him that he'd ask a question or two and receive an enthusiastic answer from Mina. His attention and gaze was currently drawn to the backyard, where two medium sized Coolies barked at him from behind the sliding glass door.     

"Do you think it'd be okay to leave him here alone?" Lyn asked, watching Kris wander about curiously. 

"I don't think I really have a choice."

"Right... What about if we-" Cut off by the sound of the door bell, Lyn jumped up and Mina turned to look at Kris. 

"Answer it!" Mina said, standing up and walking over to Kris. "I'll take care of Kris!" Sliding the back door open, she grabbed Kris's hand and pulled him into the backyard with the now quiet dogs. "They're our family pets."

"Your pets?" Kris asked, reaching out to touch the smaller of the two dogs.  

"Right!"

"How can you own them if they are their own being?"

"Eh?" Mina replied, completely thrown off by Kris's question. "Well, our family takes care of them, feeds them and keeps them safe."

Still petting the dog, Kris met Mina's eyes. "By that logic, you'd also own me." His piercing eyes and sharp words made it hard for Mina to reply right away. Where did this side of him even come from? Trying to find her words to reply, Mina was rescued when she heard Lyn call out to her. Looking away from Kris she ran back in the house. 

"Who is it?" Mina yelled.

"Our class rep," Lyn yelled back. Closing the door behind her, Mina saw Daniel standing in the doorway. 

"Didn't I tell you I wasn't home?" Mina asked him.

"Yeah... but."

"Why did you come?"

"But you're here..." Daniel said, not understanding Mina's intense rejection of him being there. 

"Does that matter? I told you I was not going to be here. Were you just going to wait for me?"

"Am I not allowed to wait?" he asked, being into the nonsensical banter.

"It seems like a waste of time to me, don't you have something better to do than wait for me all day?"

"Who says I was going wait all day?"

"Well, who says I was gonna be home soon?"

"Well, you are here now so... Who's that?" Daniel asked, seeing Kris run around in the yard with the dogs. Seeing Kris clearly in view, the girls exchanged glances and formed a silent agreement between them. Mina turned to look at Daniel. "He's my second cousin from the outer city limits. His name is Kris."

 "You two are cousins?" Daniel asked suspiciously.

"Second cousins, once removed and non blood related," Lyn hurriedly said, cutting into the conversation.  

"Yeah! He's my non blood related second cousin. He's here visiting for a while," Mina replied, smiling as she lied.

"So why are you here again?" Lyn asked, looking Daniel up and down, a dark green book cover catching her eye. "What's that?"

Daniel pulled the leather bound book out from underneath his arm. On the front appeared to be an image of a broken hexagon. "This is what I came to talk to you about."  He pulled the book before him and flipped open to a marked page. "I was wondering if you've ever read this." 

"I've never seen that before, what's it called?" Mina asked reaching out to grab the book. 

"I actually don't know the title, but you said you never have seen this?"

"Never, why?" Not letting Mina have the book, Daniel pointed at a picture drawn within the pages.

"This." Right above his index finger was the dragon... Kris's dragon.

"Where did you get this book?" Lyn asked, amazed by what she saw.

"There is also this too." Daniel flipped around and pointed at another image, the hourglass. "You've been drawing these right?" Mina was speechless. After all her hours of searching online for answers, she now had a book presented before her with what she hoped were the  answers to all her questions.

"So what is it exactly?" Lyn asked for the still mute Mina.

"It's actually a chronicle of sorts... You really haven't ever seen this?" Daniel asked again.

"Never..." Mina managed to say. "Are the other images in there too?"

"Yeah... I mean I'm pretty sure they are the same." Daniel closed the book and went to hand it to Mina. Just as the spine hit her palm, there was a low knocking sound. Looking to the source of the knocking, they all saw Kris steadily tapping at the glass door, wanting to come inside.

"Maybe it really isn't the best time to talk about this..." Daniel said, placing the mysterious book back under his arm.

"You think I could borrow that book?" Mina asked, a strong desire in her eyes.

"It's actually not mine, it's my father's... But tomorrow."

"Yeah. We should talk more tomorrow!" Mina replied anxiously. 

"Okay, I'll see you both tomorrow, we can talk after school."

"Right."

Watching Daniel leave, the girls felt even more anxious than they were before. Daniel knew something about the images, about Kris's 'signature' but now they had to wait to find out just exactly what he knew. They should have just taken the book from him, but with Kris around they couldn't take the chance of getting into trouble... Daniel was the son of well known people and the consequences of stealing from him would be regrettable. 

    - - -

"Since you're not completely well and still can't remember anything, please don't leave or go too far! For now I have to go... but I'll be back this afternoon." Mina's resolve to help the lost visitor had grown stronger overnight. She and Lyn talked it over and decided that the best way to help him was to start by recovering his memory. 

Kris sat in the dinning room with a small bowl of cereal in front of him. Without a word, he nodded in her direction, showing that he had heard her. His face was stoic and his eyes caught the light as he met her determined and clear gaze. Even without her impassioned plea, he wouldn't leave her, he couldn't... She was the only thing he now knew. But he did plan on getting out of the house. There was a strong feeling within him, telling him that he needed to do something important. He just needed to remember. He looked away, breaking the eye contact between them, giving Mina her cue to finally leave.   

Finally feeling better about leaving Kris alone in the house while she'd be away at school, Mina set out. She'd usually walk with Lyn but knowing she'd most likely be late due to worrying about Kris, she told her friend to go on ahead. Lyn easily agreed, as she had to walk her younger brother to his own school along the way, and told Mina that she'd see her in class.  

Like most things in the sleepy town, the school wasn't located too far out and could be reached within 30 minutes walking time. It was plenty of time to think up ideas about what to do next. Her first thought was talking more with Daniel. The book he had...  Maybe he could help, and maybe she could tell him about Kris. However, she'd now have to wait until the end of school to find out.

Continuing to walk along the path, the blue sky above her quickly became covered in dark clouds. She looked up and sighed. They were definitely rain clouds and of course she had forgotten to pack an umbrella. Feeling the wind pick up, Mina felt a dark presence around her. It was chilling and ominous. She didn't want to walk off from the usual path but she felt she needed to. 

Working her way to the school away from the main street, she felt the same presence continue to follow her. Feeling an unusual sense of urgency, Mina's legs began to move at an increased speed. Hearing a pair of fast foot steps behind her, Mina knew she was being chased. Wanting to see her pursuer, she looked back and immediately regretted doing so. The chaser had no visible face or features and was completely black, almost as if it was a shadow.   

Not sure where she was now headed, she allowed her feet to carry her wherever they felt going. They eventually lead her to the front of a small empty house. No longer running, Mina was now frozen in place, her body refusing to move. Why wasn't she moving? She was telling her body to move but nothing was happening. Sensing a familiar second presence in front of her, Mina looked up in time to see a hooded figure jump from the roof of the house and hear them land perfectly behind her.

Able to move again, Mina turned around saw them make quick work of the pursuing shadow. With a single strike, the shadow disbursed and vanished. The victorious cloaked  figure pulled down their hood, revealing a pair of the sharpest and darkest eyes Mina had ever seen.

- - -