((You guys are amazing! I'm really happy to know you're enjoying this! :]. I know I still have spelling and grammar errors to go back and fix so please just bear with me for a little. Oh! Just in case you didn't know, if you go on my profile there are pictures of what Anna's outfits for every chapter are and what she looks like! Anyway, enjoy!))
The following morning John and Anna got dressed in silence. The house felt empty, everything felt empty. Was it reasonable for them to feel so betrayed? They knew there was a possibility they would have to leave and yet they let themselves get caught up in human emotions, weakness.
John was the first to be ready; he headed downstairs, dark blue t-shirt and dark slim fitted jeans, and black vans. "Henri, I'm going to Sarah's," he called walking into the dining room. There was no answer, "Henri?" He called again. Walking into the study he glanced around, all of Henri's computers were on but that wasn't what caught his attention. On the table were two boxes, one was blue the other pink, it was the boxes Henri always held out on but they were for Anna and John. He always told them he would give them the boxes when they were ready. Were they ready for them now? John picked up the box and turned to the stairs hearing his phone ringing, it was Henri's ring tone.
I always feel like, somebodies watching me!
John grabbed his phone off his nightstand and put the box in its place, he clicked the talk button on his phone, "Henri? Hello? Henri?"
"No," the low gruff voice said from the other end putting John on edge, "But come here and I'll tell you how to find him."
John paced slowly in his room, "Who are you? Where's Henri?"
"417 Willowed Court," the voice said and the line went dead.
John didn't move for a moment trying to process what was happening. How was it Henri, of all people, could have gotten captured? He was a warrior back on Lorien there was no way anything human could have caught him.
Anna walked out of her room closing the door behind her, black skinny jeans, a pink tank top with a fitting black hoodless hoodie, though it was cardigan material, and flat buckle boots, which hung a little loose around her calves, she wore fingerless gloves with studs on the back of them and flower earrings. Her make-up was dark to match her mood.
"John are you ready?" She asked walking towards his bedroom. She zipped her jacket up, the zipper zipping at an angle. "John?" She walked into his room and saw him on the phone, she stopped at his door.
"I need your help," he said into the receiver.
Anna was on edge now, "John, what's happening?"
John whispered something into the phone and then hung up and turned to Anna moving around her, "Henri's been captured," he said rushing down the hall to the stairs. He could hear Anna behind him gasp. "I'm going to get him but you have to stay here," he said running down the stairs to the front door.
"Are you kidding me?" She shouted, "Like hell I'm staying here, you can't go and take all the risks while I stay here and do what? Twiddle my thumbs?"
He opened the door, she could tell he was freaking out on the inside, his hands were shaking. They always did everything together when things got serious, why would this be any different? This was about Henri, how could he not allow her to go? She followed him out the door, refusing to stay.
John turned to her, "Anna, I'm serious," he said stopping in front of her, "I can't allow you to come and put your life in danger," he said looking at her with an expression that resembled Henri's so well.
Anna growled, "But you can put yours in danger? Don't you realize what number you are, John?" She glowered at him, "You're four, if they get you—"
"Then you're next," he said cutting her off, "Do you see why I don't want you to come now? If something happens to me you'll be next, Anna, and if you're there they'll be killing two birds with one stone." How was it she couldn't see the danger in this situation? He knew before he even said it that it would be a fight to get her to stay home and he was hoping that scaring her would work, but it didn't seem that way.
"If I go we can protect each other, John, please, let me come," she begged, "If I lose both of you I'll never stand a chance." What would he really expect her to do all by herself? She would just die if she knew they get John. "It would make more sense for me to go, we can't be killed out of sequence…"
John sighed, "I'm sorry," he said turning away from her.
Anna clenched her fists, "Don't be sorry, let me come with you," she said throwing her hand out to him and holding him in place, "I refuse to be left in this shithole house and left on my own while you're out putting your life on the line!" She turned John to face her; he could see the determination in her eyes.
"No."
She screamed in frustration and threw him to the side, "Don't be stubborn about this!"
John rolled on the ground but was on his feet in an instant, he growled in frustration and shoved Anna back from where he was a few feet away, "I'm not being stubborn, Anna! I can't risk your life!"
Anna hit the ground but used the momentum to continue rolling back and land on her feet but she remained knelt down on the ground. Her shoulders began to tremble and John couldn't tell what was happening. He needed to hurry; he didn't have time to argue with her. She looked up at him and all he could see was anger in her eyes, she shot from her spot on the ground like a bullet and tackled him to the ground. They rolled across the grass for a moment, each struggling to be dominant.
Anna grabbed John's shoulders and flipped him on his back and she straddled his chest her hands pinning him down, "I won't take no for an answer, you know if you were in my situation you wouldn't stay either." She glared down at him; she couldn't take any more heartache. She already had so much to worry about, as did John. Why was he putting more weight on her shoulders?
"Why can't you just accept what I'm saying?" He shouted easily getting out of her grip, he held his hand out to her and pushed her back making her slide away from him. He got up from the ground and walked over to her, she wasn't moving.
"John," her voice broke as she spoke his name. He didn't say anything for a moment, just watching her. When she looked up, his heart broke, he saw the tears streaming down her face, "Please," she whispered out.
"…Damnit, okay," he gave in, "Just, be careful, I don't know what we're walking into and you and Henri are all I've got." He said holding his hand out to her. She stood from the ground and smiled as she placed her hand in his.
"We just have to protect each other," she said looking up at him understanding the weight of his choice and what they were about to risk. "I'm ready."
Enraged, that would be the perfect word to describe what Anna was feeling at the moment. Since the moment they had gotten into the truck she was shaking with rage. She looked over to the driver and glared, she saw his shoulders tense up feeling her burning gaze, and John was avoiding looking at her as well.
"This is a terrible idea," Anna said for the tenth time.
"You shouldn't have come if you were just going to complain the whole time," John grumbled. Sam was a very small part of the reason he didn't want her to come a long, but a part none the less. He knew how she felt about him and how Sam felt about her. Even though Sam didn't stand a chance against a Mog he still wanted to try for her sake and his fathers.
"John, you know you'd be pissed too if Sam was Sarah right now," she said putting it into perspective for him. He opened his mouth to retort but his phone rang, he sighed and pulled it from his pocket.
"Speak of the devil," Anna mumbled turning her head to look out the window.
John gripped the phone tight in his hand and hit the ignore button and shoved the phone back in his pocket. "Let's hurry, Sam."
It was night by the time they arrived to the house located in the woods, it was two stories and surrounded by a lot of trees. It looked old and unkempt; the paint looked pale and blue though there was obvious moss growing on it. There was a long driveway but they stayed hidden behind the bushes adjacent from the car parked a way away from them.
"That's it," John said looking over to Sam, "Thanks." Anna had already opened the truck door and jumped out. John closed the door behind him quietly and walked around the truck towards the house. John peaked over to Sam and frowned, he moved to his door quickly grabbing the gun in his hand and shutting the door he was in the middle of opening.
"Whoa," John protested, "You brought a gun?" He asked in disbelief. He couldn't even begin to understand his thinking behind that one.
Sam smiled, "Yeah, I stole it from Ed," he said somehow oblivious to what the problem was. "It might come in handy, let's go," he pushed the door open again and John just closed it.
"No," Anna said from the side, "It's too dangerous for you, Sam, you could seriously get hurt." She was frowning at him. Humans were so strange sometimes, why would he want to put himself in danger knowing he couldn't properly protect himself?
John turned away from him and headed to the house. Sam was still persistent, he seemed almost excited to help, "I came here to help you," he poking his head out of the window. He couldn't see what the issue was.
John looked back at him, "You have," he said thankfully, "Now, go home." Sam's smile faded but he didn't try to get out of the truck again.
"Be safe," Anna whispered to him with a wave as she followed John to the house. They walked behind the bushes sneaking to the front door without being seen. Getting closer they could see the house was actually three stories, the third story was just partly underground, the basement. They walked down the hill, which was the driveway, and ducked down behind the small concrete walkway that led to the front door. Anna looked around for any sign of movement and didn't see anything; she turned back to the house and looked up at John who was standing on crates to peer inside the first story window. He lit his hand up to get a better look; he saw a poster that read, .
There was a sudden crash and they both turned to see what caused the noise, Anna was instantly angered while John was exasperated, "What are you doing?" He asked jumping down from the crate and helping Sam up from the ground.
Sam looked determined, "I'm not bailing," he started, "What if these Mog people took my dad?" John stared at him for a moment but didn't say anything. He couldn't really argue with him there. Sam, seeing he had finally won, nodded.
In that moment the front door suddenly swung open and all of them ducked down and practically held their breath. A large man with a blonde beard exited the house turning to lock the door behind him. He was shorter than John but taller than Sam and rounder than all three of them put together. After a moment he turned from the door and began walking down the pathway towards the car they had seen.
They stood up and watched him walk away, waiting until he was out of sight. John turned to the door and raised his hand up and twisted it, they could hear an audible click and John smiled.
Sam looked excited, "Holy shit," he laughed, "But you just dead bolted it."
John's eyes narrowed and he grabbed Sam by the back of the shirt, "Okay, new plan," he said practically carrying him up the driveway, "You follow that guy and text me if he comes back, okay?" He said pointing to the car driving away down the dirt path.
"Okay, copy that," Sam said as John let go of him, "I'm on it." He jogged off towards his truck.
Anna walked up the driveway and stood next to John, "We need to hurry," she said moving around him and going to the door. She put her hand over the locks and twisted, both of them clicking. She opened the door and stepped inside, lighting her hands up as flashlights. If there were people here, why would all the lights be off? No one could live comfortably in the dark.
Anna saw John's light behind her and she started walking through the house, "It stinks in here," she whispered to him. She heard him scoff and she turned to frown at him, "What?" She didn't see how that was funny at all, it wasn't just unpleasant, it was nauseating.
He shook his head, "Don't see how you can think of something like that at a time like this," he said guiding her to the door that led to the basement. She was right though, it was disgusting in the house.
He put his arm on her shoulder to stop her, "Let me go first," he said grabbing the doorknob. Anna nodded and took a deep breath; she didn't want to know what they were going to see when they got down there. He pulled the door open and started walking down the stairs; it was a big basement, bigger than they had anticipated. John growled feeling his sleeve get caught on something; he ripped it away not caring what it was.
Anna directed her lights in a different direction as John, she only saw shelving and chairs and miscellaneous tools. But something did catch her eye, "That's…" she jumped down the rest of the stairs and grabbed a dagger from the book shelf, the end of it lit up a brilliant blue color.
"Henri," Anna turned to John hearing him speak and saw his light shining on Henri who had a cloth in his mouth and was heavily chained to the ceiling. He rushed over to him and Anna ran over as well but in that instant a man came from behind a storage bin with a large stick raised above his head. John shoved Anna aside causing her to drop the blade in her hand. John took the blow and stumbled into the table that was against the wall. The man raised the stick again but Anna blasted him back into the wall and he fell to the ground, and remained there. She looked at her hand then back to John, "Are you okay?" She asked looking for any physical markings.
He nodded and turned to Henri, he looked at the chains and the large lock keeping them in place. He raised his hand and the chains rattled, he twisted his hand and the lock popped open, Henri falling to the ground. John and Anna helped untie him.
"Are you okay?" John asked pulling all the chains away from him while Anna undid the cloth in his mouth.
Henri looked tired, "You aren't supposed to be here," he said standing up with John's assistance.
"What happened?" John asked.
"The Moggs set this up," Henri said, "We need to leave, they're coming."
A door suddenly opened from the corner of the room and they all turned to it, hearts racing. The large man from earlier came bursting through, holding Sam by the back of the shirt and in his other hand Sam's gun, "Everybody get your hands up or I'll shoot this kid."
Anna nearly burst at the rush of emotions that overcame her, her heart was in her throat and no matter how hard she swallowed it would not go down. Tears formed from her eyes and her body began to tremble. "Let him go or else," she whispered out reaching for him.
"So glad you brought the gun," John said sarcastically while he raised his hands.
"Hands up!" The man demanded again putting the gun to Sam's head. Sam closed his eyes and clenched his jaw.
Anna's lips curled back over her teeth as her body began to glow, her lumen radiating off of her in waves. She raised her hands up slowly, trying to control herself.
Henri looked at Sam, "Your Malcolm's boy," he said recognizing him now. Sam looked up at him unsure of how he knew that. "Get the lights, will you?" Henri said relaxing.
"I warned you," Anna said aloud. In a moment six small pink balls floated from her body and placed themselves gently over John, Henri, and Sam's ears. Sam's eyes widened and he put his hands to his ears only to touch the smooth surface of the pink ball that engulfed his ear.
"I can't hear," he said too loud.
"Shut up!," the man shouted.
Anna took a deep breath and let out a sound that was absolutely piercing. It wasn't a natural scream; it was loud enough to shake everything in the house and produced its own echo. The man cried out, dropping the gun to cover his ears, Anna stopped and took a step forwards kicking him back with as much force as she could and he collapsed.
She moved quickly to Sam, "Are you okay?" she ran her fingers down his face checking for injury. Sam blinked at her, wide eyed, he shook his head and put his hand to his ear. "Oh, yeah," she concentrated on the pink ball around his ears and it disappeared as did John and Henri's.
"Ow, that was loud," Sam said rubbing his ear. He was sure he didn't get the full extent of how painful it could have been but he could still hear it a little and it was very unpleasant. Anna smiled and pressed her forehead against his, thankful he was unharmed. He smiled back.
"Okay, we have to go, now," Henri said grabbing his dagger off the ground and a rock from the table.
There were footsteps above them and they froze, Anna looked at Henri who was watching the dust fall from the ceiling, realizing who was there. John went for the stairs and Anna pushed Sam for the underside of the stairs while Henri called John back but he didn't listen. A red light burst from around the door and blasted it backwards, John getting caught in the blow, he flew back and before Anna could stop him he crashed into her.
The being that entered was at least seven feet tall; he was bald and had tattoos all across his head. He was dressed in all black, a long trench coat billowing around him as he walked down the stairs, a strange gun in his hands. He got to the bottom of the stairs and looked down at John and Anna, a smile on his face. He pointed his gun at them and Anna threw her hands up, a translucent pink shield forming around them and as he shot Henri pushed his gun into the air, the blast hitting the ceiling.
Henri grabbed him by the collar and tossed him to the ground, "Go!" He yelled slicing his knife down at the Mogadorian. John got up first grabbing Anna in the process; Sam got out from under the stairs and joined with them as Anna put the force field down. They looked hesitant to go; they didn't want to leave Henri to fight the Mog alone, "GO!" He yelled.
They ran up the stairs and out of the house to Sam's truck. Sam jumped into the driver side while John pushed Anna in before jumping in himself. John looked over to Sam who was digging in his pockets frantically, "Sam, come on, start the car," he said getting anxious. Anna was staring out the back window, "Get us out of here!" John yelled.
Sam threw his hands up, "I-I can't find the keys, I must have dropped them," he said reaching down on the floor trying to find them. The passenger side door opened and Henri climbed in, "What are we waiting for?" He asked looking over to Sam.
"I lost the keys," Sam said still searching.
"John, start the car," he said looking at him.
John put his hand up to the dash board and sent energy to the car; the lights lit up and then dimmed again. He tried again, "John, start the car," Henri demanded.
"John, he's coming! He's coming!" Anna screamed.
Sam looked in the rearview mirror and started to panic, "Come on! Use your magic powers!" He yelled as the Mog jumped through the air, "We are so dead!" There was a large thud and the car bounced as the Mog landed on the hood of the car. He raised the sword in his hand and smashed it through windshield; John covered his face as Henri moved in front of him putting his hand up to catch the blade.
"Oh my god!" Sam yelled in a panic.
John cried out as he blasted the Mog away causing him to land on a car in the distance. Anna put her hand over the ignition and forced the truck to start, "Go! Drive!" She shouted and Sam didn't hesitate to drive.
Back on the main road, John held his hand to Henri's chest as the blood came seeping out, "Henri, what can we do?" Anna cried. There had to be something, some power or stone they could use to reverse the damage.
"Take this," Henri said reaching in his pocket, he winced stretching the wound. He grabbed the rock from his pocket and handed it to John who took it in his bloodied hand. The rock was gray on the outside and shinning blue on the inside. "Malcolm was using it to track the others."
"Wait, wait, wait, so my dad was—"
"He was helping us," Henri said, "He was going to bring us together." He looked to John and Anna, "You need to find the others, together you'll be more powerful."
Sam had pulled over to Henri's request and stopped by nearby train tracks. Anna and John were kneeling over Henri holding his hands.
Both were crying.
"We can't do this without you," John cried looking down at him.
Henri looked up at him, "Yes you can," he corrected and looked over to Anna, "Yes you can." He squeezed both of their hands and looked up to the sky, "You have no idea, what you two are capable of." He whispered out closing his eyes. There was only a small moment that went by before his body turned to ash and was swept away into the sky.
John picked up his coat, the only thing that remained and slipped it on, wiping his eyes and standing from the ground. "Come on, Anna," he said reaching his hand out to her. She looked up at him and grabbed his hand walking back to the truck where Sam was waiting, a sad look in his eyes.
John's phone rang and he pulled it from his pocket.
Sarah:
Who are you?
He sighed and looked up at Sam who was approaching them, his phone playing something, "We need to get out of here," he said, "There's a news thing, the cops think you guys and Henri are criminals or terrorists."
Anna wiped her eyes and looked up at the sky where Henri's ashes had flown. She looked to John and let go of the breath she had been holding. She would have time to mourn Henri, she knew he wouldn't want them to be sad about it and they had things they had to do.
"We're going back," John said to Anna and she nodded.
