I'll Be There With You

by magicatherwren

The battle is over... at least for now. During a quick get-away flight, Six loses the person who saved her life. But when they land, everything changes. Will John have the strength to move on? Or will he not have to? Spoilers! The last few pages of "The Fate of Ten" and the first few pages of "United As One". Pittacus Lore owns the characters.

1. Chapter 1

Six

I feel hollow. The weight of the battle is too heavy and my shoulders slump forward. Instead of thoughts, my brain is a swarm of hazy images, most of them of the battle that we could have won. I was so close...

The image of Setrákus Ra with the piece of pipeline sticking out of his chest comes into view. I feel my face twist into something that might have been a smile, if I wasn't in so much pain right now. In my mind he falls, his face contorted with pain. I should be cheering. Instead I feel as though my body is being pulled apart by Setrákus Ra's telekinesis, like there's this giant gaping hole in my side. Looking down, I see that my body is still reasonably intact; there are no gaping holes here. I look over at Sarah and see the gaping hole in her side. She looks worse than she did a couple minutes ago. Adam comes over with a clean bandage from the ship's medical supplies and presses it gently into Sarah's wound. I close my eyes, allowing my swirling thoughts to envelop me.

A few minutes later, Sarah coughs, her last breaths coming in short rasps. As she speaks to John over the phone, I can see the light leaving her eyes. But I am so utterly helpless. I want to scream, cry, punch a hole in the wall, anything... but I can't; there's no energy left in me. Marina lies on a cot against the far wall. She hasn't moved since we took off, leaving the Loric temple far behind. Ella sits beside her, holding her hand. She hasn't been herself since the Loric energy entered her body.

Suddenly, I hear Sarah gasp and I look over just as she drops the phone and keels over onto the cot. Mark runs to her and kneels beside her but it's too late. Tears start streaming down my face, and through them I see Ella come over and place her hand on Sarah's chest, but I already know what has happened. My head starts to ache as my thoughts swirl around and around, faster and faster. I place my head in my hands and one thought manages to surface. It's all my fault.

(A/N) This chapter pretty much sums up how I felt the first time I read the end of "The Fate of Ten".
Chapter 2 will be out soon!

Magicatherwren