What if... Three had Survived?
Unlucky Fortune – Chapter Two
Adam
"Henri!"
The shout catches me off guard, but I have no time to wonder what it means because Hannu starts convulsing. I rip my eyes away from Blondie and struggle to hold his weight. His erratic movement is making him increasingly hard to support.
My eyes dart towards Blondie and the man now standing beside him (when did he get there?). "Please, can you help him?" I manage to gasp out, giving into the weight as my grasp slipped and I fell backwards. The man, who appeared to be in his fifties, managed to catch Hannu before he went flying. I however, was not as lucky, landing on my bottom with a painful crunch.
"Owww!" I howl, the sharp pain shooting up my back.
One snickers behind me, "Oh, suck it up Adam. Now get up, you look more like an idiot than you already are."
Carefully, I pick myself up and dust myself off. On the ground is a wet imprint of my butt and despite everything I can't help but chuckle. Blondie stares at me as if I've grown an extra head and gained the ability to fly. The man has disappeared with Hannu somewhere inside.
"So... My name is Adam, can come in? I want to make sure my friend is okay. And, I need the toilet." I add, because I do.
Blondie is hesitant but beckons at me to come into the house. "I'm... Steve." He says it as if he doesn't know if it's true or not, and I frown. The house is impressive – I wonder how long he's lived here.
There is a cry of shock from the back of the house, quickly followed by a cry of, "Daniel!". 'Steve' darts towards the voice. To say he was 'fast' was understatement - he was racing as if his life depended on it, almost as fast as Hannu had been when he was being chased by a fully trained army of Mogadorians. It again makes me wonder about the disgusting nature of my race, my people. A defenceless Kenyan boy against about fifty or so fully-grown-specially-designed-mega-strong practically-weapons-on-legs who want nothing more than to kill everyone on this planet? That's really fair.
How long had it been since Kenya? Not that long away – it felt like just minutes had passed since Ivan pushed me off the ravine.
Shaking my head, I walk in the direction of where I think the voices of the man and Steve are coming. Soon, I come to a cream door. I push it open. The man and Steve are hunched over Hannu who is lying on the couch, scars in full view to everyone. The man twirls around at the sound of the door clicking shut, and before I can blink there's a pistol aimed at my head.
"Daniel, stay there and don't do anything." The man instructs 'Steve' without moving his eyes.
Wow, these guys really don't take kindly to house guests, do they?
"Put the gun down." I try, raising my hands in the air.
"Give me one good reason to believe you mean no harm," The man, who Daniel-not-Steve keeps referring to as Henri keeps the gun aimed at me. His voice is cold and testing, but in a way it's calm, too. His thick accent only adds to the effect. I don't know why, but I have a feeling that this man was a leader at some point in his life.
"I'm not armed, am I?" He still doesn't move the gun.
Sighing, I try to think of something to say that won't get me killed. "Look, if you would put the gun down I can explain everything!" Still nothing. Damn this guy drives a hard bargain. A shoot a look at Daniel, who is standing dumbfounded at the side, looking from Hannu to Henri to the dog to me and looking lost for words.
"Please, just listen -"
I get no further.
An icy feeling rushes through me and I'm pulled from the real world into a maze of flying multicolours. I've been here before. It's the gateway to One's memories. The sight sends a chill of almost nostalgic memories through me. I spent three years here, with One as my only companion. One! She's got to be the one who's doing this. But how? And, for that matter, why?
The memory slowly comes into focus, and the first thing I'm able to see in a One, as a little girl, curled up crying under a table. The walls and floor are a discoloured white, metallic and smooth. Where is this? I didn't see this in One's memories the first time.
"One! There you are!" A man comes into focus, and I gasp. It's a younger version of Henri. He's a Loric. That's why his accent was so familiar. But that makes Daniel a Garde! It explains why he was so freaked out when I showed up at his door.
"Stop calling me that! My name is Luna! Not 'One'." One sniffles, and Henri sighs, before kneeling down and touching One's shoulder. One flinches and tries to pull away, but Henri isn't having it. I guess some things never change. One wipes her eyes on her sleeve in a way that makes my heart melt. Even as a kid she's cute.
"I'm sorry, Luna, I keep forgetting you're older than the others. They all answer to their number by now." He pauses, and takes both of petite hands into his, staring into her face. "Luna, I know why you're sad. You saw something that most people wouldn't be able to live with. You've lost so much for someone your age," One shakes her head sadly.
"No, it's not that Brandon. It's something silly really, you wouldn't get it," She looks down, eyes shining and I feel a lump in my throat.
Henri hums for her to continue, and the words that One say next bring tears to my eyes. In a quiet, drawn voice, One says, "I'm sad because I'm never going to find someone to love me."
Henri stops for a moment. "Look at me Luna. We're heading towards a planet Earth. Do you know how many people live on Earth? Seven billion. I promise you one day you'll meet one person, one very special person out of the billions of others who will make you feel happy.
"One day, Luna, you'll find someone who will do anything for you. Someone would rather die than be without you. He'll be your everything, and live for you. I promise." One's sparkling eyes widen. "Really? You think so?" She breaks out into a grin. "That sounds pretty cool. All for me?"
Henri chuckles and ruffles One's hair. "All for you." He looks at his watch. " Well, I hope you're feeling better kiddo, now come on, it's dinnertime and I'm hungry. Coming?" One rubs her eyes and stands up.
"Well, if you're hungry... okay." I smile at the image of One's innocence. Beside One, Henri does too."When I meet my everything, Brandon, I'll let you know. Even if it takes me years and years. Promise." Henri smiles a knowing smile that breaks my heart into a million pieces. He knows – he knows that once they get to earth One is probably going to die, and I can see that the mere idea haunts him.
He knows One will never get the chance.
The memory fades away, and suddenly I'm on One's beach again, the one I think about all the time. One, my One, is on the sand holding her knees and staring out to sea, the waves repeating themselves over and over again in a continuous pattern that reminds me that this isn't real, just a memory. But right now, it feels real.
"So, Luna..." I say, sitting next to her.
One looks up at me and smiles sadly. "Adam. So you saw it," I nod and she reaches out a hand, brushing my cheek and then trailing them through the motionless sand.
"Did you ever meet him? Your everything, I mean?" One looks at the floor, then at me and smiles the smile that makes me forget how to breathe.
"Yeah, I did." She smiles. "He was very special,"
My curiosity surprises me. There's another feeling next to it. Longing? "Is it Wade?" Is the first thing I manage to say, my tongue failing me. Wade was a boy One had a crush on One rolls her eyes and laughs loud. "Wade? Of course not, Adam. He was just a hot guy I knew. He was a player, and he got me killed," I blush at my mistake.
"Can you tell me about them, then?" I ask. I'd like to know who One trusted the most, who would go to the ends of the earth for her.
One twirls her blonde hair between her fingers. "Okay. When I first met him, I thought he was a total idiot. I don't think he liked me very much either... but then I opened up to him, and after a while the walls he built to hide himself fell down and I saw him for who he really was, too. Who he had the potential to be. The side of himself he was hiding from.
"He was special, Adam, very special, just like Brandon said he would be. We became inseparable. He turned against the people he used to care about, just because of me. He gave up his life for me."
By the time she finishes her monologue, I can't breathe. Because, I get it. It's me. I'm her everything. Plain old Mog-boy Adam. And there's nothing more I would rather be.
One smiles. "Tell Brandon for me, would you? I have a promise to keep," and then the rainbow tunnel is back and I shoot up, struggling to breathe. Henri is staring at me from where I fell on the ground. The gun is still in his hand, but he looks confused. "You okay down there?" He asks. In reply, I stand up and sway on my feet.
"Yeah, I'm good. Better than I've ever been actually. 'Cause guess what?" I'm euphoric, and Henri's wary expression can't bring me down. "I'm One's everything. I'm Luna's everything." Henri's eyes widen.
"You... you knew One?" He asks, bewildered.
"No, no, Brandon, I still know her," His eyes widen at the name Brandon and he staggers back before regaining his composure. Henri places the gun on the table slowly, and says just one word: "Explain,"
I nod, "So you'll hear me out. That's good. Now, stick the kettle on and before we get started, could you point me towards the nearest bathroom? I'm bursting and this is going to be a long, long story."
A/N: And there you have it! Chapter Two. I'm quite proud of it to be honest. :) I'd like to thank: Stjohni, Cosmic Flames, brawler827, NumeroCinco, Mysteryfanaticno1, I wish I could be Number Five, and Iris Skydancer for reviewing the first chapter! The response was amazing. Stay tuned, because I have loads of ideas for this fic... :) Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and have a wonderful day/night!