**Hey, guys! A new short story for you all to enjoy! This time, it is a little deeper in thought than normal. I hope you enjoy!
Short Story 4 - The Ballad of Shooting Stars
Marina
"Do you remember the look of the stars? They were magnificent; every single one a different story, and something special to make them each shine bright. Us Garde work like stars. We each have a different knack and personality. We each show our talent in different ways. All of us together, we are stronger than the stars. We become one; we become our own universe; and we need to be proud of that."
If there was one thing I remember Adelina by, it would be this quote.
When we were traveling from Italy to Spain, she told me it.
We had snuck into a motel at one o'clock in the morning. My name was Sophie Astrid at the time, and Adelina was already Adelina.
I am first in the shower, blasting hot water to rinse off the muck and grime from weeks on the run. We are starving, a lack of food since we do not have Loric Gems at our dispense.
As Adel takes her shower, I begin to think of the boy again.
There is one thing that I've never told anybody, and it is about my visions of this boy. He has curly black hair, and is tanned. He is muscular, but not too muscular to make him ugly. His hazel eyes shine bright, and they remind me of the sea. His eyes, actually, are a part of what inspired me to come up with my next name, Marina of the Sea.
This boy, the one in my dreams, I believe him to be one of us, the seven Garde still alive and training to survive.
Adelina doesn't want to begin my training until I've gained my legacies. Although I have telekinesis and always had enhanced performances, she never thought it was time. I'm hoping a legacy will kick in soon.
I decide to take a walk down to the lobby. I have a dollar in quarters, so hopefully there is a vending machine. I write a note to Adel to make sure she doesn't flip, and then I sneak out the door.
The night air hits me like a cold glass of water; both refreshing and stinging at the same time. Cars whiz by on the main road as I walk down the metal steps; a clink ringing every time I step down. The pavement stretches across the parking lot and to the main lobby. There are about five cars and two trucks parked here. In one of the trucks I see a couple making out, tongues and all. I look away with a shiver. Another car has a lady in sweatpants and a baggy tee shirt passed out on the dashboard. A third holds a larger man with McDonalds wrappers strewn across the seats.
I then look at the night sky.
The stars stretch across my field of view, alongside the majestic moon to give them character.
"Do you remember the look of the stars? They were magnificent; every single one a different story, and something special to make them each shine bright."
The North Star glimmers in the distance; its white light shining down to Earth to give us thoughts about how small we truly are. What I really am doing is looking into the past. This light that I am seeing happened a long time ago, so I am looking at what has already happened.
That gets me thinking, is there some way we can reverse time and go back to before all this Mogadorian bullshit started, and just relive our lives in peace on our home planet? I really hope the answer is yes.
Suddenly, the boy in my head appears again, this time outlined in the stars. He begins to sing a wonderful ballad.
The stars shine brightly on the horizon,
The ones who have survived live,
The ones who kill are searching,
For eons, on and on, they begin
Hope is inside them all,
But to no avail,
Only one side can win,
The stronger beat the strongest, only by pure skill
Success does not come without sacrifice,
The survivors will soon learn to lie,
Setbacks lead to disfunction,
The Garde are soon to die.
The last line of the boy's ballad sticks in my head, and I can't shake it off.
The Garde are soon to die.
The boy fades out of the stars, and the night sky is once again clear. I am shaking, but not from the normal cold and hunger, this time from what the boy has sung.
I walk in through the double doors at the motel entrance, and to my excitement, there is a vending machine. I put in the quarters and buy a bag of cheetos. I walk back to the chairs by the motel window and look outside, feeling the concierge's glare in my subconsciousness.
The stars are a magnificent sight to see.
I begin to think about the boy again.
The boy has his own quirks and differences, and that makes him seem more appealing. He appears to know a lot of information, and he is kind of cute.
"Us Garde work like stars. We each have a different knack and personality. We each show our talent in different ways."
Adel's quote comes into play again, and it truly means something in this case.
Me, Number Seven, I may think I am useless and never going to be as strong as the others, but that may be my quirk or difference that helps to put the Garde together as one.
This thought settles my disagreement. The Garde need to meet up to train, and soon, or else the Mogs will kill us all easily.
"All of us together, we are stronger than the stars. We become one; we become our own universe; and we need to be proud of that."
Adel was right. We need to group together and become our own special universe. Together, we can be strong, and we need to be proud of who we are and what we have to do.
We are the Garde, we are Lorien's Legacies, and we need to make our mark.
Just then, Adel walks in with wet hair to receive another angry glare from the concierge man.
"You feeling all right?" She asks, concerned.
"Yeah... I've just been thinking. Do you remember that time you said the quote about the stars?" I ask.
"Of course, it is my favorite quote. My mother told me it a few days before the invasion." She responds quietly, her tone with somber.
"Well, I had a vision of another Garde in the stars. He sung me a ballad, a beautiful ballad, about the Prophecy of Ten." I tell her.
"And what exactly did he say in this vision?" Adel asks softly.
"Too much stuff... But I do know what we should call it."
"And what is that?" She asks.
"The Ballad of Shooting Stars." I say, and as if planned, a shooting star flashes across the night sky.
xxxxx
It is now four years later, and Adelina has taken in the Christian religion a little too much if you ask me. She doesn't want to leave the convent in Spain, even with my constant begs and pleads. I know we need to keep on the move, and she does too, but this place makes her happy, and we are treated well. The signs of leaving do not sound too good.
After another short dispute about leaving, I huff and begin to walk up the stairs. It is time for bed anyway. As I go, I begin to quietly sing a familiar tune that has traveled with me ever since the motel.
The stars shine brightly on the horizon,
The ones who have survived live,
The ones who kill are searching,
For eons, on and on, they begin
Hope is inside them all,
But to no avail,
Only one side can win,
The stronger beat the strongest, only by pure skill
Success does not come without sacrifice,
The survivors will soon learn to lie,
Setbacks lead to disfunction,
The Garde are soon to die.
As cruel as it ends, it means a lot to me, and every time I look up into the night sky I see the boy, and he sings this ballad to me.
The crickets outside echo throughout the hallway and bedroom, and I then crawl into my own bed. When I close my eyes, the boy appears again.
This time, he takes my hand and leads me to an oak tree in the middle of a field. The scene quickly changes to night as we sit, and he turns to me with his wonderful hazel eyes.
"Let me sing you a ballad... The Ballad of Shooting Stars." He says.
I lay with my head on his stomach, and I listen to his beautiful voice as the stars glisten and shimmer.
Suddenly, a shooting star whizzes by overhead.
With the star in my head, and fond memories rushing in, I join along in the singing of the ballad.
At the end of the song, I turn to the boy.
"You know, there is one more part I think we should add to your ballad. It may not sound as well, but I think it can give the Garde hope after what they have learned." I say.
"And what is that?" He asks smoothly.
I begin. "Do you remember the look of the stars? They were magnificent; every single one a different story, and something special to make them each shine bright. Us Garde work like stars. We each have a different knack and personality. We each show our talent in different ways. All of us together, we are stronger than the stars. We become one; we become our own universe; and we need to be proud of that."
"I think that would fit in nicely." The boy says happily.
"Oh, and one last thing." I say.
He raises his eyebrows.
"Lets end it saying the title, just to make the point round." I explain.
Our eye contact says everything after my sentence.
"The Ballad of Shooting Stars, bringing the Garde back together as if they were one." We say in unison, and we lean into a kiss.
The Ballad of Shooting Stars; a deep ballad to give inspiration, hope, and confidence.
A ballad to give the Garde something to fight for.
**So I hope you guys enjoyed! It was a little bit different, and it does take place before I Am Number Four. Please review, I truly do appreaciate them!
