Power Ranger Ninja Storm, Heather Ray [best classic romance novels txt] 📗

"Tori?"

I stare at my reflection in the stream. I'm a mess

-- tired eyes, wan face, tangled hair. And the funny thing is, I think I'm putting up a pretty good front. Because I feel like an absolute wreck.

Dustin and Shane have been arguing about what we should do for a while now, and I've watched it unfold with a sense of odd fascination. They've disagreed on many things in the past; frankly they tend to disagree. But this dispute over Blake has snowballed before my eyes, and…I don't know what to do about it

.

I admit, I'm relieved to hear Dustin voice some of the more hopeful thoughts that invade my naïve mind. It gives me a sense of validation. I'm glad that I'm not the only person in the world to think it possible that Blake might be telling the truth.

But, I can't help heed Shane's point as well. The same fears keep creeping back, that Blake is lying, playing me for a fool again…and if I fall for it this time, it could mean all our lives.

"Tori?" Dustin repeats, "What do you think about all this?"

I take a deep breath, and give the only answer I can. "I don't know. You guys decide."

I don't bother looking up. I can just imagine their stunned faces. Tori Hansen, Miss Opinionated, the "brains"

of our little trio, doesn't have anything to contribute?

Has the world stopped spinning?

The uncomfortable silence stifles me, and I close my eyes as if I could somehow block it out. I'm…ashamed of myself. And I hate

this feeling…

"That is it

," Shane snarls with shocking venom. "Blake is going down for this!"

"Now wait a sec!" Dustin stubbornly defends. "He didn't hurt Tori --"

"He didn't hit Tori, this time," Shane corrects fiercely. "He obviously hurt her. Just look at her!"

I grimace at Shane's comment. In a way, it's sweet that he feels the need to protect me, but…"I'm not made of glass, you know. I'll be fine." My words sound more sure than I really feel, and I sigh deeply. "Don't make this about revenge, okay?"

"Tori's right," Dustin insists. "Let's remember what we learned at the Mountain of Lost Ninjas. Blake and Hunter got so wrapped up in revenge that they took action without knowing the truth about their parents' murder, and ended up kidnapping the wrong guy!" He nods enthusiastically. "We need to figure out what's going on before we fly off the handle."

"In the time it'll take us to satisfy your curiosity, Dustin, the Thunders can kill us!" Shane begins pacing along the water's edge like a caged tiger; but he never wanders more than a few feet from us before he turns back. Dustin throws his hands up in frustration, before turning and pacing in the other direction.

I bite my lip in miserable silence.

After a few minutes of stewing in opposite corners, it's Dustin's loud sigh that breaks the quiet. "Okay, butting heads isn't doing us any good, Bro," he concedes. "Whatever we decide, the three of us have to be in agreement. There's a lot we don't know about what the heck's going on, but there's one definite fact: we're in real danger here. If we keep squabbling with each other, Lothor will clean our clocks but good."

He then approaches Shane's rigid form. "What d'ya say? Can we all try to be reasonable? Look at the situation from all angles? Huh?"

I watch, my eyes silently pleading, as Shane looks at Dustin's offered hand. Finally, he nods, grasping Dustin's hand. "Deal."

Dustin's grin spreads into his sunniest smile, and he immediately sinks to the ground beside me. "So before we make any decisions, I want to hear what's on Tori's mind."

I wince just a little, dropping my gaze.

"Come on, Tor… we need you." His arm wraps around my shoulders, providing warmth and assurance in a simple gesture. "You're part of this team. And right now, we need to hear everyone's point of view if we're going to come to the right answer."

Believe it or not, I do have a point of view. After stewing in silence with Blake for hours, searching every pocket of the forest for my missing teammates, I had a lot

of time to think about it. But...

"What if I'm wrong? I was wrong before, you know." I reveal a glimpse of the fear that's been slowly eating at me since this nightmare began.

"Nobody can have all the right answers all the time. That's why we work together. You know what we think; now we need to know what you think."

I close my eyes solemnly as I realize…he's right.

I'm not the only one who's angry, confused, frustrated…hurt

. This isn't about me, and how I feel.

I can't just sink into myself and let everything happen around me. Force my teammates to pick up the slack for me. That

would be weakness.

"Guys," I murmur, "what are our options?"

Shane frowns thoughtfully. "What do you mean?"

"Let's… think it through," I request awkwardly, "because I had a hard time figuring out my options before. When I found Blake in the woods earlier, I felt trapped. I didn't want him with me, but also I didn't want to lose track of him, letting him get the drop on me later. And I had no way of detaining him; no way of making sure I could keep him out of my hair. Whether he was lying or not sort of became… irrelevant, at the time. All I knew was, it was safer to keep him in front of my eyes than anywhere else."

Nervous fingers begin braiding my hair as I wait for my teammates to respond. Dustin stares at me, visibly perplexed, before he finally grins.

"She's got a point, Shane. We kind of have to keep him with us. What else can we do with him?"

Shane thinks silently, his shadow eclipsing the sun overhead as he stares down the stream. "'Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer,'

huh? I can live with that. Without his morpher, he shouldn't pose too big a threat." He then lifts his wrist, baring his morpher. "But there's no sense in taking unnecessary chances. If we do spring a trap, it'll be easier to recover if we're already morphed."

Dustin frowns. "Isn't that just escalating the situation?"

"No, it's not," Shane responds firmly. "It's called playing it safe. Why parade around this island unprotected when we don't have to?"

I glance down at my Wind Morpher as I turn Shane's words over in my mind. There's a certain feeling of invulnerability that comes with the blue and silver uniform that would definitely be welcome now.

Nodding, I rise to my feet. "Sounds like a plan."

Shane nods. "Then let's get Blake and keep moving. I'd like to get off this rock before sundown."

We line up on a row, with Shane in the center. "Ninja Storm, Ranger Form!"

Blinding light and a surge of energy encases me in the protective armor of the Blue Wind Ranger. I sigh in quiet relief that the morphers do work in this strange place. Even if we're cut off from Ninja Ops, at least we can still access the Power granted to us.

We stay in formation as we approach Blake, who stares at us with grim eyes. "Well? What's the verdict?"

"We've decided it's better to keep our eyes on you," Shane informs him coldly. "So you're sticking with us for the time-being."

Blake nods quickly. "And where are we going?

Dustin points to the cliff above us. "Higher ground, to see if we can get through to Ninja Ops."

Blake follows Dustin's finger, and then shakes his head. "It won't work."

Shane inches a little closer to Blake, his form imposing. "And how do you know?"

"Because I know about this place," he responds, gesturing to the forest and shore visible in the distance. "This is Vertical Island. There's a wall of enchantment surrounding the entire land mass. Altitude won't help you break the barrier. Your communicators are useless here."

Blake then looks at each of us, finally resting his eyes on me. "Your best bet is to get beyond the wall of enchantment, and that means heading for the ocean. If you can get far enough away from the island itself, you might get a signal."

I can imagine the grimace that accompanies Shane's audible snarl. "Look Blake, if you think we're going to follow your lead --"

"I'm not 'leading'

anything," Blake interrupts, folding his arms. "I'm offering you information; it's up to you to take it or leave it. I'm telling you right now, you won't be able to reach Ninja Ops on this island. Your best bet is to get off the island, the sooner the better."

My gaze is fixed on the tense lines of Blake's face. "And what about Hunter?" I can't help but ask.

His eyes flick to me. "You

are getting off the island," he clarifies, "I'm staying until I find my brother. I haven't seen a sign of him since I got here, but I'm sure he's around here somewhere…looking for me."

"Or, maybe he's on the shore right now, waiting for you to lead us into a trap," Shane snarls.

Blake's face darkens, but he doesn't rise to the bait.

Indecision falls around us, and we remain rooted to the spot: three Wind Rangers facing one stiff, unmoving, unmorphed Thunder Ranger. Hidden behind my armor, and half obscured by Shane's broad shoulder, I watch Blake closely, noticing everything from the angry twist of his lips to the tension in his shoulders. And as I study his posture, I turn over his words in my mind over and over.

I can't deny… it sounds reasonable. But that knot in my stomach, that fear and doubt, is holding my mouth shut. If I'm wrong, my mistake could mean the deaths of my friends. Can I carry that weight?

I shake off the tension sealing my mouth, focusing on my morpher. Remembering Dustin's reassuring words; my role on this team. My responsibility to speak my mind.

Still, it's hard to get the words passed my lips. "Maybe we should head to the shore, guys."

Shane's shock is obvious. "Tori, you know we can't trust him --"

"But we also can't automatically do the opposite of what he says. Not if what he said makes sense," I reason, activating my communicator. Once again, nothing but grating static answers me. "We're already almost at the top, and we're not even getting a muffled signal."

"You know Dude, if I