A/N: this was written for my creative writing class, where the assignment was to find a character in a book that dies and either prevent them from dying or bring them back from the dead. i don't know about the rest of you, but i was devestated by Henri's death, so i prevented it from happening in the first place! besides the lack of fics for this book series is depressing, so i'm doing my part and adding to it.
This was actually kind of annoying to write, because i had to write it in the same style as the author, and "Pitticus Lore" apparently REALLY likes to use sentence fragments (which are a pain) so don't get all over my case for using them, i didn't have a choice. the title comes from the name of the song which is the theme from the I am Number Four movie, which i listened to it on repeat the whole time writing this.
for the record the first like 2 1/2 paragraphs are straight from the book (i needed them the set the scene) so they don't belong to me.
enjoy!
I fall face-first in the grass. I'm grazed by something but I don't see what it is. Henri cries out in pain behind me and he is flung thirty feet away, his body lying in the mud, face up, smoking. I have no idea what has hit him. Something big and deadly. Panic and fear hits me. Not Henri, I think. Please not Henri.
The beast throws a hard sweeping blow that takes out several of the soldiers and quiets many of their guns. Another roar. I look up and see the beast's eyes have turned red, ablaze with fury. Retribution. Mutiny. It looks my way once and swiftly rushes off to follow its captors. Guns blaze but many of them are quick to be silenced. Kill them all, I think. Fight nobly and honorably and may you kill them all.
I lift my head. Bernie Kosar is motionless in the grass. Henri, thirty feet away, is motionless as well. I place a hand in the grass and pull myself forward, across the field, inch by inch, dragging myself to Henri. When I get there his eyes are closed. I don't know what he was hit by, but it did a good amount of damage; the shot burned right through his shirt and skin, leaving a raw, bleeding circle in the center of his chest.
"Henri," I breathe, kneeling besides him. He doesn't respond. In the distance I can still hear the roaring of the beast, and the guns of the Mogadorians, but they are gradually become quieter. "Henri," I say again with more force, shaking his shoulders. He can't be dead, he can't. Not now, after all this.
He comes to with a groan. Relief floods through my body and I send a silent thanks to every higher power I can think of. He slowly opens his eyes. He looks around incoherently before turning to look at me.
"John," he whispers.
"I'm here, you're fine. You're going to be fine." I say as I help sit him up. He gasps in pain and clutches his chest. "We need to get to the school," I say. He grunts as I help him up. I wrap his arm around my shoulder to support his weight. I look back at Bernie Kosar. He's still lying motionless in the grass. The thought of leaving my dog behind hurts, but I don't have a choice. Sorry buddy, I think sadly. I'm not sure if he can even hear me. Henri and I slowly start to walk back to the school.
By the time we get to the doors we're both out of breath and our foreheads are beaded with sweat. The battle has taken a lot out of both of us. I kick the door open and head for the home-ec room. Hopefully Sarah and Mark will be waiting for us there. When I open the door to the classroom, I'm met by the cocking of a gun. I immediately flash my Lumen on to find Mark pointing a shotgun at me.
"Whoa whoa it's us!" I say holding my hands up in surrender.
He lowers the gun and sighs in relief. "We thought you were one of them," he says as I drag Henri and myself into the room.
I see Sarah huddled against one of the fridges. Her legs are pulled up to her chest, her arms wrapped around them. She looks tired and scared and worried. Probably all three. I gently set Henri down against the wall and hand him a towel from one of the kitchens. He presses it to the wound on his chest with a grimace.
The minute I turn around Sarah's there. She runs up and throws herself into my arms. She doesn't seem to care that I'm covered in mud and blood and who knows what else. I hug her back tightly.
"I was so worried," she whispers into my ear. I can tell she's on the verge of tears.
"I'm ok," I assure her holding her tight.
After a minutes she pulls back suddenly to look at me. "Wait, where are the others? Sam a – and Six are they…?"
"They're together. They're fine. Sam's bringing his truck around. We're retreating."
She sighs in relief and I let her go. I turn back to Henri and kneel besides him. "Hey," I say touching his shoulder. His eyes flutter open. "How are you feeling?"
"Like a million bucks," he says. I can tell he's lying.
I lift his hand and the blood soaked towel away from his chest and grimace at the sight beneath it. I look at his face instead. His face is pale and damp with sweat. His breathing is rapid and shallow. He's going into shock. Getting shot may not have killed him, but if he loses too much blood he's just as dead.
"What about the healing stones?" I ask. I hand him a clean towel. He presses it back against his chest.
He slowly shakes his head. "The injury is too big. Using the stone would only make it worse."
I sigh in frustration and am about to ask him for any suggestions when a pair of headlights suddenly illuminates the front windows. Sam has finally arrived with the truck.
"Sam's here," I say, turning to the others. "Mark, grab the chest, Sarah give me a hand."
They both nod. Mark retrieves the chest from it's spot in the oven and moves to the door, making sure the coast is clear. Sarah moves to the other side of Henri and helps me lift him up. I wrap his arm around my shoulder again and head for the hall. Mark leads the way, holding his shotgun, ready to shoot at anything that moves.
By some sort of miracle we make it out of the school without encountering a single Mog. Their sudden disappearance is unsettling. But I'm not complaining. Sam's truck sits idling in the bus loop with Sam behind the wheel, looking around anxiously. When he spots us he jumps out of the cab to meet us at the back of the truck.
"Took you long enough," I say.
"You try driving through the remains of an alien attack without a license and see how long it takes," he quips in return, dropping the tailgate.
Mark and Sarah hop up. Sarah helps me lift Henri up. I watch her as she guides him to the front and sits him down against the cab. She talks to him quietly and checks his wound, which is finally starting to stop bleeding.
"How's Six?" I ask turning to Sam.
He opens his mouth to answer, but a voice from the cab cuts him off. "I'm still alive, thanks for asking." Six says. "But if I have to listen to this one doting over me much longer he might need help."
"Yeah, she's fine," he says turning back to me and smiling sheepishly.
Just then I hear a noise from behind me. I spin around ready to attack. But instead of a dark trench coat and glowing blaster, I'm met by brown fur and a wet nose.
Bernie Kosar limps towards us. Battered and bleeding but very much alive.
"Hey boy, you made it," I say. I pick him up and carry him to the truck. Can't get rid of me that easily, he says, and I chuckle. I hand him up to Mark, who sets Bernie down near Sarah.
"So are we just going to wait here for the Mogs to come and get us or are we going to get the show on the road already?" snaps Six.
She's right. We're sitting ducks. The Mogs will return and I don't want to be here when they do. I jump up into the back of the truck with the others. Sam shuts the tailgate and climbs back into the cab. With a roar of the engine he pulls away from the curb with a jolt, and Sam heads out of town.
The carnage around the school is staggering. Mangled remains of cars litter the ground. Lampposts and trees lay scattered everywhere. Smoke steadily rises from the school and the fields behind it. The Mogadorians are nowhere to be seen, but their destruction remains. I sit down next to Sarah and Henri and lean against the side of the bed, exhaustion quickly taking over. The wind whips through my hair, thick with the smell of rain and smoke. I watch the dark road behind us, the school growing smaller in the distance.
This was not a win. The school has been destroyed. Our covers have been blown. I'll have to leave Paradise and Sarah behind. But it isn't a complete loss. Henri and I are still alive and now we've got Six and Sam with us too. We're stronger then ever. We will carry on. We will find the others and continue to fight. For both Earth and Lorien. Because we are the last of our kind. We are Earth's last defense. Lorien's legacy. It's who we are.
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