Darkness from Within #6: A Team Divided (A Ninjago Fanfiction)

Chapter 3

Tears streamed from Nya's eyes as she raced through the forest, not paying the slightest attention to where she was going. She didn't know how far she was from the monastery, but she didn't care. She just wanted to get far away from that place—the place where she had seen her own brother turn against her.

Finally, she drew to a halt beside a tree, leaning against it and sobbing to herself. She felt a pain in her chest as she remembered the fire in Kai's eyes—the fire that seemed to extinguish every part of the brother she knew. I already lost Lloyd, she thought. I'm losing Cole, and now I lost Kai, too?

She didn't know what to do anymore. Her life was crumbling apart by the day, and she didn't know how to fix it. All she wanted to do was cry. And out there, in the forest, alone, she could completely break down and no one would know.

Tears dropping down her cheeks, Nya walked a little ways more until she came to a stream. She stopped beside it and gazed down at her reflection. Just seeing her tear-stricken face sent more tears to her eyes. Sitting down at the water's edge, she buried her face in her hands and cried.

She didn't know how much time had passed as she sat there, sobbing. All she remembered was hearing the bark of a dog, rousing her from her tears.

She looked up, blinking water from her eyes, to see a brown, shaggy retriever bounding toward her, tail wagging. She tipped her head, watching it warily as it stopped a few feet away from her, barking once or twice more. Its ears were pricked and alert as it stared at her, but Nya sensed a friendliness in the animal.

"Hey," she cooed, voice light. "It's okay. I won't hurt you."

The dog blinked before scampering closer to her, a bounce in its steps. Nya slowly reached out her hand and placed it between the dog's ears. The brown retriever's tail wagged happily and it pressed its head against her hand, lapping her fingers with its tongue. Nya realized it must be used to being around people.

"Are you lost?" she murmured, although it wouldn't understand. In reply, the dog crouched down and rested its head on her lap, snuffling her clothes. Nya ran her hand down its back. Her throat tightened. She didn't know why, but just the sight of the dog made her eyes once again swell with tears. "I guess you could say I'm lost, too." Her voice cracked.

She let out another sob as the tears started once again rolling down her face. She scratched the dog's fur and gazed down at it, trying to take in its comfort through her cries.

Then she suddenly heard footsteps behind her.

"You know, usually, when one cries like that, it's because someone they trusted had just betrayed them," a deep, cool voice spoke from behind. A voice she did not recognize.

Nya turned her head as a man stepped out of the trees and onto the riverbank. A face she did not recognize. His light brown hair hung down almost to his shoulders and he wore a thin red hat on top, shadowing the eyepatch across one eye. He seemed strong and dangerous, but Nya was too upset to care. "What do you know?" she choked out.

The man walked closer to her. "Well, I've been to a lot of places, seen a lot of things," he said.

Nya sniffled, not wanting to cry in front of some stranger. "Try me," she scoffed.

"Okay." With a contented sigh, the man sat down beside her. Nya felt a spark of unease and inched away from him, but he didn't seem to mind. "A close friend?" he asked.

Nya shook her head.

He rubbed his chin. "Your father?" he guessed again.

Nya looked away. "I don't have a father," she muttered.