Author's Note: Hi everyone, thank you so much for the reviews: Tactum Ignis, JackReacher23, Guest and fire8856. Also to Leaning Leon for following! This is a longer chapter - enjoy!
Five POV
My mouth drops open…
I stare for a few more blind seconds, not able to register if I am seeing a mirage or the real thing. I inch forward, being ready encase of an attack or trap, but nothing happens – just the faint blue glow of the object in front of me. I step into the cool blue water, not sure if I should touch it or not; the liquid surrounds me, and soon I'm engulfed in what seems to be a flowing blue aura coming from the massive stone in front of me. I draw nearer, curiosity filling me and awe plastering over my expression.
In front of me is a big Loralite stone.
The water is slightly warmer around the stone, I can feel and see it pulse, almost as if it was greeting me; I smile widely – I can't wait to show Rey. I touch the smooth surface, the blue coating is warm from the intensity of the sun this morning, but it's not hot to my touch. I soon find myself sitting on it, it slowly dries my wet skin and clothing, leaving me refreshed and very excited. I can already feel adrenaline pumping through my veins as I run back to Rey. I don't even care that my feet are getting dirtier as I step; I flick large branches and logs aside with Telekinesis that are in my way, making up a small sweat. For some reason I find it easier running back to the shack. My legs burning from the strain I've put on them, but my mind feeling amazed. The sun has now begun to fade behind the thick misty clouds, clustering about. The rain is probably coming soon; it's a nice cooling change from the endless, blaring heat, but it also sometimes slightly floods our water supplies and crops. I come to a slow halt as the shack fence appears, the brown wood is chipped in various places and the ground below it hardening as I step on to it.
I catch my breath before walking into the not so hot environment of the shack. It's insides are protected by the walls and windows; and the tables are made from the wood Rey and I collected as soon as we arrived here. The smell of the usual breakfast Rey cooks fills my nostrils; although it's the same meal everyday, my stomach can't help but rumble at it's scent. Before walking into the kitchen I slowly make my way to my room, it's small compared to what most people would have, but it's something, right? My bed consisting of a thin mattress lays on the ground, a side table I carved sits next to it. My eyes instantly land on my Loric Chest, it lies in the corner of my small room, a thin layer of dust sets upon it, I eagerly walk towards it, picking it up and gently blowing the dust of it. The particles fly through the air and settle on the floor as I place the chest on my mattress. I stand up and stretch again, then look in the mirror, taking in my reflection. I'm not skinny, fat or muscular. My brown hair sits on my head, growing a bit long for my liking, I probably have no muscle whatsoever, just skin and fat that makes me look averagely, board line healthy – if that makes sense. I shrug off my judgement and exit the room.
I walk to the kitchen, Rey's same study table merged in with the kitchen counter – he sits at it, carefully reading something.
"Hi Rey" I say, trying to sound enthusiastic. I faintly smile and sit down on one of the many flimsy chairs we made. It creaks a bit against my weight.
"Hello Five" he says in response, not drawing his eyes away from what he's reading. I think it's the Lorien Legacies book from my Chest. I take a deep breath – talking to Rey is very different from talking to your everyday person. I've been meaning to speak to him about moving countries but since my training results haven't been good I knew the answer would've been a today I proved myself, and he actually smiled and was genuinely happy with me. I slowly walk over, levelling my breathing and feeling the increase in my heart rate,
"Um, Rey, can I ask you a question?" I inquire, I put my hands behind my back and step forward, I bite my lip from the nerves. Rey grunts in response and nods, turning around in the process. I take one more deep breath before saying,
"I want to leave"
Six POV
I step into my seat on the airplane. The weather outside is pouring rain and very cold. I breathe a sigh of relief as I sit back into my seat, it slightly squeaks against the pressure of my weight. Small puffs of fog float up to the top of the air conditioning; the sudden chilly atmosphere sends tiny tingles along my spine. This is not the first time I've been on a plane; but it's still worries me that I'm not invisible. I reach down to my bag and take out the documents Henri printed out; he's got a few hand written notes collaborated by my memory from the Mogadorian base and his own from external sources. I read them mentally,
Number One: Malaysia (deceased)
Number Two: London, England (deceased)
Number Three: Kenya, Africa (deceased)
Number Four: Paradise, Ohio
Number Five: Unknown
Number Six: Paradise, Ohio
Number Seven: Trailed in Spain
Number Eight: Last reported in Sri Lanka
Number Nine: Unknown
Possibilities:
Boy in India; said to have moved rocks with his mind. Vishnu reincarnation and Greek mythology references/sightings in general area. UFO sightings have become more frequent – Himalayas
Spain; Number Seven said to be tracked to Spain, Santa Teresa.
Sophia Garcia; lifted 5 tonne block of concrete off a man during Argentinian earthquake. Disappearance after news broke out.
Second Ship; Loric who might've been on the second ship. There was known to be a Loric newborn and Cepan – John's dreams/visions. Unknown whereabouts.
I put down the pieces of paper, and take a deep breath as the airplane begins to turn onto the runway. The flight attendant walks around offering people headphone sets and magazines – I decline as I begin to daydream. My mind drifts to John. I only just met him, but I feel connected in some way; he's the first Garde I've met, so that's something right? Soon I fall asleep, my mind and body both exhausted, physically and mentally. Mental images of Katarina flash into my head, the good times with her; laughing, training, watching movies together – it was perfect, or as perfect as a Garde's life can be. Then the memories of her gagged and chained to the wall; her blood staining all the torture instruments and equipment – I still can smell the stench of the Mogs breath and he pulls out the thin silver knife. The muffled scream of Katarina as the Mog makes a deep incision in her arm, the warm, crimson red liquid seeping out and dripping to the floor until she falls unconscious from the blood loss. I suddenly jerk upwards, awakened and sweating – I feel dry tears upon my cheeks.
"Miss, are you alright? We've landed" I hear the voice of the flight attendant ask, I look to her, still slightly breathing faster than usual – her face is full of worry and confusion. I simply try to smile,
"Um, yeah, I'm fine. Just a bad dream" I lie, my voice hoarse and throat sore from the air conditioning. I quickly get up and follow the last of the passengers forwarding off the plane, swinging my light backpack over my shoulder. I walk steadily through the narrow isles, the air now quite warm compared to when I boarded. I reach the exit and smile a goodbye as the pilot and other flight attendants wave their goodbyes. I suddenly feel pity for them; they don't know what's actually happening, their planet is going to be a war zone soon – and there are going to be casualties. Just hopefully not too many.
I step into the open Spanish air, the warm breeze greeting me with a sense of refreshment and the sun with a comfortable warmth. Once I finish with customs, I walk to the sliding door exits, a few people have already lined up for a taxi, I quickly get in line, straight away stealing myself one. I get in and look to the driver,
"Where to?" he asks with a strong Spanish accent,
"Santa Teresa" I flatly say, he nods and speeds off, out of the airport and towards Number Seven. 45 minutes later I've arrived at the area, it's much hotter than the airport and it looks like quite a small and simple town. I pay the driver and nod a thank you. As soon as I step out of the taxi the sun instantly beats down on my body, the rays heating my skin to an uncomfortable state. I roll up my thin sleeves and pull my hair back into a pony tail. I look to the town, I see a church that stands tall, it's about a 20 minute walk, there's also a café – a drunk is sleeping in the outdoor booth. I take a deep breath and start making my way around Santa Teresa – determined to find this Garde.
Marina/Seven POV
I eagerly make my way through the convent hallways from morning mass. My knees hurting slightly from the extended amount of kneeling. Ella is hot at my heels, sharing my same excited face. The sun is peeking today, and there's also a warm breeze flowing about. It's perfect. I reach my room, the air conditioning making it chillier than usual – I discard the feeling and run straight to my bed, Ella does the same, packing the essentials – two pairs of clothes, water and My Loric Chest. It's simple. The bed slightly creaks as I walk past it and the walls darken as some clouds cluster in front of the sun. I walk outside, Ella next to me,
"You excited?" she asks, I can sense the happiness in her voice. I can't help but nod rapidly,
"How about you?" I inquire, she nods – we turn around the corner and rest on the bench outside the sisters' quarters – Adelina is telling them we're leaving; but it's taking longer than usual. The bench is outside on the veranda, over looking the small garden and path that leads to the lake that I almost drowned in. I feel embarrassed just thinking about it. I look to the town, people walk past happily, living there simple yet enjoyable lives; I almost envy them, but then I feel pity and sympathy. They don't know what's coming.
As I look around my eyes land on a man, he's wearing a thick coat that covers his neck and a small hat that sits on his head. I smile at him, but nothing happens. He just stares blankly at me, his eyes seem to be watching me, not drawing his line of sight away, I feel my heart rate increase and beads of sweat seem to form on my brow. Ella notices this and takes my hand, I grip it, not letting go. A sudden dread is jolted through me and fear arises in my stomach. I instinctively pull Ella away, inside of the convent, walking slowly but at a steady pace. I'm about to ask her what she saw but the sound of a door opening interrupts my sentence. Adelina walks out holding 4 airplane tickets and a gleeful smile planted on her face. I can't help but mirror her same expression. She ushers us to follow her, our bags are firmly on our shoulders, My Loric Chest unfortunately does not fit in my bag; it's too bulky, Adelina carries it. We can't say our goodbyes, Adelina and Crayton want to leave as subtly as we can.
We exit the main hall and onto the front part of the church, the sun is blaring today, but is complimented with a warm breeze. I cool the air around me, with my Cryokinesis for practice and a beneficial use.
"Crayton is coming with the car, we'll wait here for now" Adelina indicates, pointing to the nearby café shop. I see Hector walking back to his home, as badly as I want to say goodbye , I can' will just be another chapter in my life that I'll close up and hopefully not forget. In the mean time we order some drinks. They're laid out in front of us on the mosaic patterned table, I smile grimly; to be honest, I'm going to miss Santa Teresa. I stare out into the open town, the dirt roads lead off everywhere and the stores and shops are just opening, my eyes skim over a girl I haven't seen before – she's walking around the inner town, occasionally looking up and about; I think she's lost. She walks up to the café and takes the table next to us, she swings her backpack off her shoulder and lays it out in front of her, she sighs in exhaustion – probably from the heat. She removes the sunglasses that sit on the bridge of her nose and places them down as the water she previously took out is opened. I feel I sudden feeling of familiar, her eyes are strikingly beautiful; the most exquisite shade of dark grey. Her raven black hair is loosely pulled back, I feel slightly sick – this is the girl from my dream. I always thought that it was an ancestor or sibling of mine, but this girl in front of me is my age.
Ella notices my fascination with her and nudges me,
"Marina, you're staring" she says quietly, her innocent seven year old voice faint in her grown up 12 year old one, I think she's smirking a bit. I snap out of my thought train and face straight forward, smiling a bit from my small embarrassing moment, the girl unfortunately seems to notice this and looks to me, a questioning look on her face. Adelina is on the phone with Crayton, he's apparently late, there's a lot of traffic and an accident has occurred where he is. Adelina's face is scrunched with worry, she looks much younger now that she's out of the convent clothes. My orange juice has now slightly condensed, and the moisture is dripping down the side of the tall glass. I take a quick sip and my mouth is flooded with the citric taste of the liquid. I glance back at the girl, she's looking at a few pieces of paper in front of her; her eyes glued to the pages and staring deeply into the words, as if each of them is as vital as the next. A short abrupt movement behind her draws my attention.
When I look at it, my stomach drops and my heart and breathing rate increase. Fear and dread is sent through me and I feel Ella's hand makes it's way into mine.
Six POV
Finding this Garde is harder than I thought. Santa Teresa is very hot; the sun is unrelenting here and it's heat is merciless. I take a long drink from my bottle of water, it's already lost it's coldness from the intense heat, but it still rehydrates me. I'm seated at a nice café, it's early in the morning and many of the stores haven't opened yet. I flick through the pages and pages of the combined notes and information Henri, John and I put together when we were still safe in Paradise. They're just about the Garde and some known locations plus a few suspicious reports on 'extraordinary' people around the world. The boy in India seems to be the most likely of them; many UFO sightings have been spotted in the general area he's in, a Vishnu reincarnation theory, as well as a Greek mythology one, plus he apparently was seen moving rocks with his mind. Too many sources point to him as being one of us.
I look up, and see that a girl and her, I assume, family is sitting at the table next to me. The girl is about my age, she has brown hair that is neatly tied back, a few lose strands hang around her face. She's very pretty, as well as her thoughtful eyes, she seems to genuinely come off as a nice person. I return to my notes, the heat has died down and a warm breeze picks up, almost blowing away my sheets of paper. The girl looks to me, as if she's trying to remember if she's seen me before; she hasn't, I'm new to this town – that's probably her confusion. She looks away for a second and her eyes widen in what I think is fear at something behind me, I'm tempted to turn around, but I don't want to draw any unnecessary attention to myself. I see out of the corner of my eye that the girl has taken a small look of horror and, who I think is her younger sister's hand. I clench my fists and slow my breathing. I look around again, most people have cleared out, it's quite isolated in this part of Santa Teresa; I could've sworn that there were lots more people before.
The mother, I think, grabs the hands of both the girls and starts slowly moving backwards. Just as I'm about to turn around, a figure enters my line of sight. He's tall, a coat covering his entire torso and it ends at his knees, a small hat sits upon his head, that just seems to cover up his skull and where his hair is. Then it hits me when I see the moustache; he reaches up and takes off his small hat revealing a complex pattern of tattoos branded upon his head. I hear the woman standing in front of the two girls say something,
"Turn away and we won't have to hurt you" she says boldly, her gaze not moving and flinching, I can hear her short abrupt breaths from here. The girls are now standing behind the woman, the older one looking a bit more firmer and the smaller one gripping her hand. The man laughs a mocking laugh in return, making the younger girl flinch. I know who that man is.
I know what that man is.
I stand up slowly, not making a sound, I carefully repack my backpack, stuffing everything into it quickly. I place in my seat and push the chair in, so it is safe from anybody's eyes. As I'm about to get up and turn to the Mog, another 3 dark figures emerge from the sides of the café; my stomach drops and I see a similar reflection of horror in the girls' eyes.
"I doubt you can… Loric scum" the Mog spits, my eyebrows shoot up and I look to the girls. I would face-palm right now if I wasn't trapped in a sticky situation. The other Mogs close in as I turn invisible, none of them, even the girls don't realise that I've disappeared. I grab my backpack and make my way to the back of the café, unpacking my things and getting ready.
Marina/Seven POV
The man closes in, Adelina standing in front of us strongly. Fear is written all over my face and the warm morning breeze has turned a cold and dreadful one. Each tattoo on his head seems to pulse with every step he takes closer to us. I grab Ella's hand and grip it tightly, I turn to the side to see 3 other men stalking towards us, they wear similar apparel to the first.
Mogadorians.
The Mog pulls out a blaster, it's end glowing red, I shudder – this is the first time I've seen a Mogadorian in real life. There's a pause before his stench filled mouth opens,
"Surrender-" he's cut off by a very fast punch by Adelina, the Mog falls back, clutching his nose. The others break into sprints, and that's when I start. I fire up my Cryokinesis, letting go of Ella's hand, who makes her way to Adelina; who is shooting wildly at the closest ones to her. A few more Mogadorians emerge and soon we're battling what seems like 2 full squadrons. I drop the temperature around me, and frost begins to grow around my feet, I angrily stomp on the ground and 3 thin but very long icicles extend out from the ground, each puncturing through a Mog, mist flows out around me, getting colder and colder. I smile before dodging a fast round of blaster fire, the last blast clipping the end of my shirt and burning the side – the fabric turning black. I freeze the Mogadorian and punch his frozen body – he explodes into thousands of pieces; ash and ice.
I hesitate after killing. It's not in my nature, I'm not use to it, but for some reason it comes almost like a second nature; like instinct.
"Marina!" I hear Ella scream, I turn to her, the sweat starting to form on my brow. Panic rises through me as I see a quite large Mogadorian stalk towards her, Adelina is too busy dealing with the closest ones to get to her. I scream back, jumping over the table in front of me, I run fast, really fast and reach Ella within seconds. I realised I've already formed two ice like daggers in my hands, I slit the Mogs throat and he falls lifelessly to the ground choking, then exploding into ash. I quickly hug Ella and pull her towards Adelina who's rapidly firing, but I sense she's running low on ammunition. I look to her while trying to freeze a barrier in front of us, the shock of killing just hitting me now.
"Marina, I need you to go. Get Ella and get out!" she says, interrupting my panicked thoughts and reloading; her last round. I shake my head, still freezing the Mogs in front, Ella has taken another gun and is firing accurately – Crayton taught her well. Sweat is burning my back and the sun is intensifying as we fight, I run to the nearest Mog and send a thick icicle through the middle of it's eyes, it's nothing but ash later on. Before I can move onto the next one, something hard hits my side, and I feel a warm wet feeling seeping out and down my hip. I'm thrown to the ground and hear Ella scream, Adelina can't get to me, she's too busy protecting Ella, they call out my name as my vision blurs and black spots appear in the corners of my sight – I'm over using my Legacies. I'm not ready for this yet.
My heart beats faster than ever before as the Mogadorian stands over me with a bloodied knife. A shark grin plastered on his face, I reach down to my side and try to heal it. It takes longer than usual, but the icy feeling greets me as I receive a hard kick to the gut. I groan and cough, choking on air.
"One less Loric to worry about" the Mog mocks as he raises his dagger for the final strike. I think I'm crying, I'm terrified, I can't move – I'm frozen with fear. But the strangest thing happens next. A semi-long, silver sword protrudes from the Mogs chest, a single drop of blood slides out before he disintegrates into ash. My saviour pulls me up and looks to me, my mouth drops open and I feel the recognition I felt before. It's the raven haired girl. Through the shooting and ongoing fight I speak, my voice full of shock and confusion.
"Y-you, who are y-you?" I stutter, she has ash caked on body and a gun in her left hand, the sword in her right, she smiles before answering.
"Number Six… now duck" she says, I roll out of the way, regaining composure as she shoots the gun, it hits a Mog that was charging towards me from behind; it slumps to the ground in a pile of ash. I stare in awe as she moves through the fight; another Garde, here. I snap out of my thought train and start firing icicle after icicle at the oncoming Mogs. Six's eyes widen at me before she… disappears? I start to panic, and sweat pours down my back and forehead as I now aimlessly shoot, blasts of ice hit Mogs but not kill them, I look around hysterically, trying to set eyes on Six. I can't see her, dread and panic fills me more. Then I see Mogs consecutively exploding into ash, Six reappears, more ash caked on her face and her sword sheathed.
Invisibility. That's cool.
I smile widely, even though the slight pain in my side is throbbing and growing worse. I realise I haven't finished healing it, I do so quickly and run to her. Adelina and Ella finish off the remainder of the Mogadorians shooting them wildly. I run over to Ella and Adelina, hugging them both viciously. I silently sob, thinking that today could've taken the two people I care for away from me. I pull back and see them both breathing heavily, I'm about to say something to Adelina but she draws her attention to Number Six who is behind us. I walk up to her,
"Thank you for saving me Six" I say, still a bit nervous in meeting another Garde. She smiles and looks to Ella and Adelina behind me,
"No problem. So what Number are you?" she asks, walking over to her backpack and keeling down to it, placing her gun inside,
"Um, Seven, Number Seven. But I go by Marina" I offer, she nods and smiles. Adelina and Ella comes up next to us, both exhausted but smiling,
"I'm Adelina, Marina's Cepan, and this is Ella, Number Ten" Adelina says shaking Six's hand, Six stops in her tracks and looks questioningly at Ella, before nodding. I assume she knows about the second ship that left Lorien. I'm about to ask her where she's going now but a car pulls up next to us, the window is put down, I'm getting ready for another fight but I see Crayton's face peep through the window; it's full of worry and fear,
"What happened?! Are you guys alright?" he asks, I can't help but smile, Ella runs to him and they hug when he gets out. I turn to Six with Adelina. The cool breeze picking up slightly. I'm a bit taller than Six, she's got an athletic build, her raven hair is pulled back into a loose bun. My heart is still beating from the fight and my breaths are still short but I still speak anyway,
"Um, where are you going to go now?"
Author's Note: Thanks for reading guys! Most of you want a Sam/Six pairing - I'll see what I can do. Please review and also check out my other stories!
Thanks Again!
Paragon 8