*Marina*
We rush through the damp forests. Mogs are yelling. I numbly follow Six, a hollow feeling in me.
"C'mon...just...a...lil...more,"she pants. We jump into the boat and gun it.
I press my hands to Nine's wounds and heal him. He nods at me grimly in thanks.
We're off across the swamps. I try to ignore every alligator out there.
"How will we get back to Chicago? Our passports and shit are all back there!"Nine says in frustration.
I listen to the two of them argue.
"He wouldn't be dead if you hadn't urged Five to attack you! Are you a moron, or what?"Six asks.
Nine readies a comeback.
"ENOUGH!"I scream. The icy feeling is back. It spreads throughout me to the lake. Six and Nine quiet down and they stare at me.
I stare at the swamp. Its frozen solid. "Sorry,"I say softly. I really need to control my new legacy.
Six stares at me nervously. "Better not make you mad, right?"she laughs.
Nine sighs. "Yeah. Sorry Marina. I gotta pull my shit together."
"We're going to run across the swamp to the airport. We can just sneak in. We're probably screwed for security anyway."I say.
Six and Nine nod.
Nine and I grab a hold of one of Six's hands. I freeze the lake so we have a clear place to run.
A single tear trickles down my cheek as flashes of Eight appear in my head. Eight laughing. Eight smiling. Eight with cups of tea. Eight hugging me. Eight punching Nine. Eight, Eight, Eight.
"I'm so sorry,"Nine says quietly. With super speed, Nine and I are hauling Six along.
"It wasn't your fault,"Six replies in a hoarse voice. I know she's been crying.
"Yes. Yes it is. He didn't deserve to die. He was so much better than me. I can't-I can't believe it."Nine says in a rough whisper.
"Nine, don't blame yourself. He wouldn't want it."I say, my eyes damp.
We all stop for a second as we see the old man's shack. As if some external force decided it, we all collapse into each other's arms and cry our eyes out. I cry the most. Heaving sobs that make Nine's shirt damp from his own sweat and my tears. Nine's eyes glisten from tears he hasn't shed. With puffy eyes, Six latches onto our arms and buries herself in our sorrowful embrace.
"Next time,"Six says in a low voice, "Next time, Marina, you freeze that asshole up. He must pay."
I grimace. "I promised if I saw him again I would take out his other eye. And I meant it."
Nine flashes a dangerous grin. "When I see that fucking bastard I will pound his face in. Then Johnny boy will light him up."he says.
Six says, "We've gotta move." The three of us stand up and race to civilization.
The tears are gone. Now is the time to avenge number eight.
FIRST CHAPTER OF THE WRATH OF SEVEN, EVENTS AFTER THE FALL OF FIVE