Vitani POV
Disclaimer: I don't own I Am Number Four or any of the Lorien Legacies for that matter.
A/N: Read and review and I shall love you forever! PS. This was written after the first book and before the second book. Partly based on the book, partly based on the movie.
My Heart to Keep
Chapter 1
If I die before I wake
Pray the Lord my soul to take
But so help me Lord if my soul you reap
Leave to me my heart to keep
I woke up, drenched in sweat, after the latest nightmare. I was re-living Anya's death again. Uncas looked up at me and whined softly. Alice awoke at Uncas's movements and looked up at me as well. I wiped my forehead and sat up. Both dogs shook themselves off and stepped lightly off my bed. There were no other sounds in the warehouse. I picked up Anya's Lorien sword from my bedside. It was a gorgeous silver blade that was about a foot and a half long, not including the hilt. Uncas whined.
"I know. I know. I'm getting there. Precautions, my dear friend, precautions" I said to the dog as I walked towards the door.
Precautions my furry ass. I need to go! Uncas's voice sounded in my head. I looked at him and he wagged his tail.
"Language" I said, opening the door of my room. I flicked on the lights and the barren warehouse lit up like New York City during Christmas time. Alice brushed past my leg and both dogs ran down the stairs. The cool night air chilled my arms and filled the warehouse. I shivered and the sword instantly cooled in my hand. The gem in the hilt shone a neon blue.
Hurry up! Alice barked from the bottom of the stairs. I shook my head and rolled my eyes. I threw myself into a leap and landed at the bottom of the stairs.
Bout time Alice said in my head. I opened the back door of the warehouse and let the two dogs out. They ran off into the darkness. I heard them roar as they transformed. The two dogs had originally been Mogadorian beasts, but they had turned against their masters and helped me escape with my life. I had named them after the characters in my favorite book, The Last of the Mohicans because they wanted a fresh start.
Suddenly, I felt a flare of pain in my chest. I couldn't breathe. I fell to the ground, the sword falling out of my hands and clattering against the ground. My vision blurred and my body writhed. My mind was filled with blue. I saw a girl with curly blonde hair on a motorcycle. I also saw a boy with sandy brown hair next to her. There was a beagle and two people sitting in an old blue truck. The was another bright blue flash. The pain subsided and the vision disappeared just as quickly as they had come. I felt Alice's wet nose poke my arm. I breathed in deeply and sat up.
Vitani? I heard Alice's soft voice in my head. I picked up the sword. Uncas stood in the doorway.
What happened? He barked. I smiled at his protective nature. I stood up.
"It's time. Two of us are united. It's anyone's game now." I said. Uncas transformed. He shook his massive head and bared his fangs. Alice followed his example.
"And now we wait." I said. The knife glowed brightly and both beasts let loose howls. Suddenly, my cell phone rang. Who the hell would be calling me at midnight?
John POV
Quite a bit earlier
It had been almost a week since we had left Paradise, Ohio. Sam was driving and Bernie was sticking his head out the window. Six was on her motorcycle in front of us. We had been going non-stop for two days. I scrolled through my contacts, located Six's number, and called her.
"What?" She snapped. Yeah, definitely time to stop.
"Stop at the next motel you see" I told her. She snorted.
"Bout time you said that." She said and hung up the phone. Sam was nodding.
"You know that was a bad idea. She's on a motorcycle. Talking on the phone isn't really easy." Sam pointed out. I glared at him.
"Just saying." He said quietly, turning away and looking out the window. I shook my head and Bernie came over to lay in my lap.
"Sorry. I'm just really tired." I apologized. Sam looked back over at me. He smiled.
"It's fine. I totally get it." Sam replied, "We all need a lot of rest." I did my best to smile at him. Bernie wagged his tail. Six flicked on her blinker and we turned into the parking lot of a decent-looking motel. By the time we go out of the car with our stuff, Six was already inside getting a room. I saw a faded "Pets Allowed" sign in the window. I picked up Bernie and we walked inside. Six held two keys. She tossed one key to Sam.
"Your room is three oh two. I'll be in three oh five." Six said and stalked off. We watched her go and searched for our room. We found it over by the heated indoor pool. It was a small room with two twin beds and an even smaller bathroom. I put Bernie down and he went around sniffing the edges of the room. Sam went to go take a shower. I sat down on the bed and texted Sarah.
We're here safe and sound. The motel could be a bit nicer, but it'll have to do... I looked up from my phone briefly when I heard someone jump into the pool. The pool was going to be a pain, especially when you could hear it that well.
OMG! I was so worried about you guys! Sarah replied quickly. I smiled because I knew that she would be worried even though I told her not to be.
Yeah, sorry bout that. Got to go, talk to you tomorrow! 3 I replied. The buzzer on my phone went off within seconds of sending the message.
Love you, John 3 The screen read.
Love you too, Sarah 3 I replied and put my phone back in my pocket. Bernie jumped up on the farthest bed and laid down. I opened my bag and pushed the can of Henri's ashes aside. Pain struck my heart. I pulled a shirt and sweatpants out of my bag and tried to push the memories out of my head. I changed in the corner and glanced at the clock. It was almost nine at night. I heard the shower turn off. Sam walked out about five minutes later in distressed jeans and a t-shirt. He flopped down on the bed opposite mine. I got up and flicked the tv off.
"I'm hungry. How bout you?" I said. Sam looked up at me.
"Definitely. I saw a small diner across the street. It's open 24 hours. Let's go." He said, getting off the bed.
"Bernie, you watch the place!" I called and we walked out the door. I heard a bark and than all was silent. We walked across the street to the diner. It was a nice little diner. We both got about four burgers each, eating two and bringing two back with us. We packed as much food into our takeout boxes as possible. We walked around and bought some sodas at a small gas station. We got back around eleven forty five. I opened the door and saw Six sitting on my bed. She was watching the news. Bernie laid next to her on the bed.
"Where have you guys been?" She asked, angrily, as soon as she heard the door open. Sam and I glanced at one another. We both hid the food behind our backs. It was better not to piss her off even more.
"I come in here to find only Bernie when I had something totally amazing to tell you, but no! You two ran off like an antelope at the sight of a cheetah!" She exclaimed. Both Sam and I glanced at each other, walked in, and set our food down on the dresser.
"Something amazing?" Sam asked, cautiously. Six rolled her eyes shut the tv off.
"I know who Number Seven is." She stated. I dropped the bottle of soda that I was holding.
"Really?" I exclaimed.
"Yeah, her name's Vitani. It means Demon of War. I've heard that she's named it for a reason. I think I have her phone number..." Six said, slyly.
"Call her!" Sam and I both exclaimed. Bernie barked.
"Why? I know where she lives!" Six said. I rolled my eyes.
"Because if she really is a demon of war, I don't want her randomly attacking us for trespassing." I replied. Six thought about and took out her phone. The phone started ringing within seconds. A girl picked up.
Hello? Why the hell are you calling me at midnight? A girl's voice sounded through the phone.
"Vitani, it's me, Six!" Six said. I heard static coming out of the phone.
What? I can't hear you. Who is this? Vitani said. Suddenly, the call dropped and the tone on the phone sounded. Six gazed at the phone.
"Lost the signal." Six said, "We'll just have to go. She doesn't live far from here. She lives over in Atlanta, Georgia. I get no reception here anyways." I nodded and began to pack my stuff back up. Sam followed my lead. Six pulled her already packed bag out of the closet. Bernie jumped off the bed and wagged his tail. We had checked out and were on the road within twenty minutes. After thirty minutes of driving, Six pulled off the main road onto a backroad. After a few miles, a huge abandoned warehouse came into view. We pulled up in front and got out. Six pushed open the front door and we all walked inside.
"Hello?" Six called. There was silence. A huge German Shepard stepped out of the shadows. It bared it's teeth and snarled, loudly. Bernie tensed. A huge Doberman stepped out of the shadows as well. The Doberman barked once and bared it's teeth. Bernie growled back. He stepped forward and transformed. I was surprised to see the dogs stand their ground. Bernie growled, loudly. The Shepard launched itself forward and transformed into a Mogadorian beast. The was an eruption of snarls, growls, and roars as the beasts fought. The other dog transformed as well and launched itself into the fight.
Suddenly, something hit me and I was thrown sideways. I landed on my back and there was a dead weight on my chest.
"John!" Six and Sam yelled. A girl appeared on top of my chest holding a Lorien sword to my throat. Her brown hair fell into her electric blue eyes.
"Any last words?" She asked, pressing the blade against my throat. I gasped, trying to speak, but the words not coming out. My mind was a train wreck, everything was moving too slow.
"Pity." The girl said, raising her sword.
"Vitani! Stop!" Six yelled. Vitani looked up.
"Six?" She asked, incredulously.
"You're about to kill Four!" Six said. Vitani looked down at me and then stepped off my chest. She shrugged in apology. We stood, looking over each other. She looked all of us up and down. She rolled her eyes. Bernie let loose a loud roar. She turned around to see the beasts fighting.
"Dammit! It's one in the morning!" Vitani muttered and walked over to the beasts. I noticed that on her left leg, she had all of marks of the Lorien Nine tattooed up her leg. On her right leg were the three scars. She wore only a pair of black boyshorts and a camouflage bra.
"Uncas! Alice! Heel!" She screamed. The two Mogadorian beasts stopped fighting and backed away. They transformed back into dogs. Bernie growled at Vitani. She looked up and her eyes flashed. Bernie was suddenly lifted off the ground and thrown against the nearest wall.
"I said heel." Vitani growled and went to examine her dogs. I noticed the multiple scars running along her back, inner legs, and arms. Battle scars. Various tribal tattoos and Lorien tattoos covered some of the scars. I couldn't imagine how she'd gotten them. Vitani looked to be only about fifteen. She set the sword down next to her and knelt down next to her dogs. Bernie transformed back into a dog and walked over to us. I noticed a slight limp. He laid down next to my feet. Vitani straightened up. Six walked over to her.
"We're joining up. We need to defeat these Mogadorians." Six told Vitani.
"Why?" Vitani asked. All three of us were shocked.
"What? What? What do you mean?" Six sputtered. Vitani shrugged.
"What's the point of fighting together? What are we going to do when they're gone? It's not like we can totally repopulate a whole planet." Vitani said, crossing her arms. Six gazed at us. None of us knew how to respond to Vitani's question. Ok, so our plan hadn't exactly been thought out that well.
"You'll never know until you try." Sam said, softly. Vitani took a few seconds to glare at him. Sam shrank back and looked at his feet. We stood in silence again.
"I suppose you need a place to stay." Vitani said. She wasn't really expecting an answer, but all three of us nodded our heads. Bernie whined softly. Vitani shook her head and walked over to a large staircase on the other side of the building. She walked up the stairs with her dogs beside her and us following after. We entered into a large penthouse apartment-type thing. There was a large living room that had a kitchen, bed area, closet, and bathroom that branched off. Vitani opened the closet and tossed bed sheets at us.
"Make yourself at home. I'll be over there." Vitani said, jabbing her finger at the bed area. She walked off and her dogs followed. We had barely settled down when the lights snapped off. I wrapped myself in a blanket. I really hoped that she got much friendlier.
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