[center] [IMG]http://i309.photobucket.com/albums/kk396/Mercinus3/Kayla%20Mason%20Title%20Drop_v2.png[/IMG]

[b]Location: In Transit between Asagio’s, Little Sicily, and The Hub.
Time: Night time (10:30pm)[/b][/center]

The dinner that night certainly had been entertaining, despite Kayla being late by 5 minutes. Mia and Mark decided on a mid-end Italian restaurant, Asagio’s, that was close to Sherman Square. While the events of D-Day were still on some people’s minds, events of Nightmare, Umbraxis and Pax Metahumana were a fresher in mind. While the mechanic still had those events in her thoughts, which had made her nervous to this day, she didn’t raise them and kept a stoic appearance to the guests of the anniversary. The entrees had been delicious, everyone finishing their dishes with the help of multiple bottles of wine and beer. Not wanting to have a bad reaction to the mixture of the medications and excessive alcohol, Kayla stuck with shandies for the duration of the night. By the time the happy couple decided to move on to The Hub, a couple of the members to the party had to say their farewells and went back home. This certainly eased some of the tension that Kayla had been feeling, relaxing a little bit. She accompanied them to the nightclub, though just to see what the venue was like and, perhaps, finally get back to being her old self.

The bus journey from Little Sicily to the closest stop – a few blocks from the area that the night club was located – had been uneventful. Kayla watched as the world went by through the window as she listened to the conversation that Mark and Mia had behind her. They mostly discussed about what they were going to do on their upcoming holiday to the UK and a couple of countries in Europe. It certainly was a nice getaway from the hectic few months that had occurred in this city. [i]Perhaps I need a holiday somewhere,[/i] Kayla thought, eyes focusing on the various oranges and yellows of the streetlights. [i]It certainly has been a while since I was last on one. It would probably help with resetting my own mind.[/i]

“… What do you think, Kayla?” She didn’t register immediately that the couple behind her was being asked a question as she turned around with a puzzled look on her face. “Well, do you think that it’d be better to see Phantom of the Opera or Les Misérables in the West End?”

Kayla thought about it for a moment. [i]Les Mis is probably good, though that had been out on film within the past couple of years. I haven’t seen Phantom of the Opera, but I have heard it is good as well.[/i] This was a difficult decision, but had ended up with one show in mind. [color=E38C2D]”If I had to choose between the two, I have heard good things about Phantom of the Opera.”[/color] The gleeful look on Mark’s face suggested that he won the debate. The playful slap along with the disappointed face from Mia certainly proved the point, the gesture making Kayla smile.

A few minutes later, the bus halted at the stop they were getting off. The small group all got off. “Ok, so we should be a few minutes’ walk from here.,” Mark spoke to the group, looking around for the street name. As he was doing that, he was patting his coat pocket to check for something. Moments later, he had a slight worried look on his face. “It looks like my phone slipped out of my coat pocket.” He looked as the bus started to pull away from the stop, collecting the last of the passengers waiting at the stop. “I’ll be back in just a moment.” He started sprinting after it, hoping to catch the bus at the next stop. Kayla looked after him with a puzzled look. [i]Why would he go after the bus if it was just his phone? That could be easily re…[/i] It then dawned on her.

“That Pasadena bitch has been located.”

He thought immediately broke off as she heard a man walking past the group, appearing to be on a phone. While it could just be a random conversation about someone else, Kayla thought it was way too specific, especially as she noted that the hooded guy had pulled the phone out as she got off the bus. Walking to chase after him, she spoke out loud to the guy. [color=E38C2D]”Excuse me. What did you ju…”[/color]

She didn’t get to finish her sentence as the roar and force of an explosion ripped her off her feet, flying forward to the floor. The soundwave had deafened her, leaving a ringing in her ears. She felt disoriented as she tried to compose herself and figure out what had just happened. She looked to see the man looking at her. The distinctive half-skull tattoo on his face showed disappointment, his hand holding the handle of a knife in his hoodie pocket. However, with such a commotion that had just occurred, the man replaced the knife back in the pocket, making a cutthroat gesture to her as he turned and ran down an alleyway. Her hearing started to clear as she heard the numerous screams of agony filling the night sky. One name had brought her back to reality, the voice familiar to her. “MARK!”

Kayla turned around and saw the result of the explosion. The bus they had been on was now a flaming carcass of what it once was. Anyone who had been on there certainly would have been incinerated by the blast. Tens of feet from the wreckage, Mia was knelt down next to a limp body of her boyfriend, shaking it while in tears. Kayla’s expression dropped from confusion to horror. The elation of the sight in front of her had dulled the ache on the side of her head as the cut oozed her blood. [i]Not again,[/i] she thought, getting to her feet as she ran to where the couple were. While anyone who was immediately close to the blast certainly were dead… [i]Please don’t let this happen again. Especially to her.[/i] Her footsteps felt numb as she focused in on Mark. She slid right next to Mia, the ruined skirt of her dress ripping on a piece of shrapnel that remained on the ground. [color=#E38C2D]”Mia, are you alright?”[/color] Her question fell on deaf ears as her childhood friend focused on Mark. Kayla reached her hand for the hand that Mia was holding and pressed two fingers against the wrist. Focusing in, pure adrenaline driving her now, she waited a moment. The woman next to her started sobbing, expecting the worst. [color=E38C2D]”Mia, he’s alive![/color] 

It was then that her friend snapped out of the shock and looked at the mechanic. “W… what did you say?”

[color=E38C2D]“He’s alive. But the pulse is weak.”[/color] While Kayla didn’t have any medical training, especially in Emergency First Aid, she remembered everything her biological father’s books had that related to the job in the military. She didn’t know why the pulse was weak at first until she saw it: a piece of metal was embedded in Mark’s gut, blood soaking the shirt that he was wearing to a dark crimson hue in the light. While it was fortunate that the metal looked like it didn’t hit any fatal like the lungs or heart, the wound looked like it was aimed at the intestines. She reached down to her dress and ripped a large strip from the bottom of it. Wrapping it around the area of the wound, she pressed down on the side. With the sirens heard over the roars of the fire, she hoped that she would stem the flow until help arrived. Her downward spiraling mind and oncoming breakdown would have to wait out until then.