Chapter VIII: Strategy
Hello again, dear readers. To everyone who is wondering who wrote the duel last chapter, Peach is the one who plays both Taniya and Bastion, and Peach doesn't duel. So when she writes duels on her own most of the time, she writes brief descriptions. She also hopes you understand that Taniya was so clouded by her own dark emotions that she didn't see the way out that could've been redemption. Taniya wasn't bad, but just horribly blinded, and once in that place, couldn't break free, even to save Bastion or herself. Thwarted love that turns into obsession isn't impossible to overcome, but it is difficult and some people cannot overcome it. So if you hated the duel or the chapter, it's Peach's fault and she hopes you are able to forgive her and still enjoy this story.
There is also another thing we need to explain about the nature of the duel. A true shadow game causes physical injury and/or pain to the persons involved. Had we shown the entire duel, it would've gotten graphically violent to the point we might've had to up the rating of this story. In case you're wondering about the decks used, Taniya used the same deck she used against Bastion before, thinking she could bring him down the same way again. Bastion, however, used his science-based deck that he used with success against Chazz and to some degree against Jaden. The damage Taniya's deck did to Violet…well, let's all be thankful that those darts from Amazon Blowpiper don't have poison on them.
Last time, Bastion fought against Taniya and won. Violet, however, was in bad shape at the duel's end. Bastion feared for Violet's life and hated himself for having to break his word and take a life. And now, the story continues…
Usual boring legal…aw, never mind. You already know what we definitely don't own and do own. Thank you.
The ride to the mainland seemed much longer than the ride to the island, but the two helicopters finally landed at the docks. The paramedics began pulling the stretcher out of the back, while the passengers on the other helicopter quickly got off. Bastion moved to the stretcher and got a grip on Violet's hand again. As he was her fiancé, he got to ride along in the ambulance. Meanwhile, the Duel Academy principal, the Duel Monsters creator and his intern got into a limo and raced to the hospital as well.
Luckily, the hospital was close by, and soon the ambulance reached the ER. "I'm sorry, sir, but this is as far as you can go. You'll have to go to the waiting room," stated one of the paramedics. She had chestnut hair pulled into a ponytail and hazel eyes, helping her partner start rolling the stretcher inside.
Bastion nodded. "I...understand..." His mind flashed back to Cleveland and what still dogged him. He staggered into the waiting room and sank into a chair.
Meanwhile, the three that had flown with him raced into the hospital and into the waiting room. "Bastion-boy, maybe we should wait with everyone," Pegasus suggested. He could see the exhaustion on the young man's face and knew Bastion needed the people who loved him most around him. It was nearly four in the morning now, and Bastion wondered foggily if anyone in Rosa's room was asleep.
"Besides, you can show them that you're all right. And you can tell them that Violet will be, too," added Chumley, softly.
Bastion nodded. "C'mon, son, let's get you up there," the chancellor coaxed. And together, they went to the elevator and up to Rosa's room, supporting Bastion as he was so exhausted. "I'm back," Bastion called quietly.
Rosa was in a deep sleep, as she was sedated from medication. Atticus, like some notable sleepers, could sleep through a train wreck and remained asleep. Most of the others, however, snapped awake. Syrus yelped, nearly falling out of his chair in surprise. Hiro also awoke, shaking the drowsiness from his head upon sight of his son. "Bastion! Son!!" he gasped, striding over to pull him into a hug.
Katai, too, was awake and ran, hugging her son tightly. "Mum...Dad..." Bastion just held onto his parents, knowing they needed reassurance he was alive and okay as much as he needed assurance that they were there.
And then, Hiro and Katai moved aside as Jaden virtually tackle-hugged their son in his relief. "Bastion! You're okay!" he said, relieved.
"Yeah...Jaden...but..." Bastion sank into a chair, spent.
Syrus recognized the tone, and instantly frowned. "Bastion...what happened?" he asked worriedly. Hiro took note that Violet hadn't entered with the others, and also grew worried.
"Th-they had to take her into s-surgery...Taniya...tried to kill her...but her own plot backfired...Nevertheless, Violet was badly hurt...I couldn't do anything and I had to kill for Violet," Bastion admitted. It hurt him not just because he felt he'd broken a promise. He'd had to take a life, and he hadn't really wanted to.
The room grew silent, everyone trying to think of something to say. "Son...you didn't have a choice. I'm sure Violet will understand," Hiro stated quietly.
"Dad..." Bastion just held onto his father. So often in his life, Bastion had looked to his dad for strength and this was a time he greatly needed it.
"Sweetie," Katai added, "did Taniya give you a choice?"
"N-no..."
"Then...you listen to your father...and just rest. You'll need your strength..."
"You need to be strong for Violet, and for yourself. She still needs your help, son," added Hiro, holding Bastion close. He hated seeing his son this way.
Bastion was so tired; he sank against his father and into an exhausted sleep. Kisara checked him quickly to make certain he was all right. "He's done in," she said softly. "I'll get a cot in here for him. No sense in waking him until we know something..." Within three minutes, nurses had brought in a cot and Bastion was sleeping deeply on it.
"Violet..." he murmured in his sleep.
Kisara covered him over with a warm blanket. "She'll be okay...you just rest now..."
Katai grabbed a chair and moved over to her only child, brushing his hair gently. "How could that devil woman be so horrible?" she asked. "If she really loved Bastion..." Katai knew that Taniya hadn't taken Bastion's innocence on their first encounter in the coliseum, but she was still angry at how the tiger woman had treated her son.
"It wasn't love," Kisara said sadly. "It may have been in the beginning, but it turned into obsession. When a person gets so obsessed that the other person's feelings don't matter, it's no longer love. Part of it…she probably wanted to end the pain of losing him to Violet. A true shadow game is brutal and deadly for the loser. Taniya's gone and she will not return."
Jaden looked up. "We got them both back," he said from between his parents. "Chancellor Shepherd...we can't go back to school yet. I know we might get in trouble, but..."
"You won't, Jaden...these are extraordinary circumstances," the chancellor said gently, laying a hand on the young man's shoulder.
"Thanks, Chancellor Shepherd," replied Syrus. Whether he'd have gotten in trouble or not, he would have stayed to help Annie. But some of the stress was lifted off his chest at the chancellor's words.
"I figured you kids wouldn't separate...not when you're dealing with this. It would be very unfair. Don't you agree, Kisara?"
She nodded. "We'll do what we can to help you kids keep up in school. We'll send tutors, you'll study online and we'll make sure you want for nothing, okay?"
The young men all looked at each other. "The girls wouldn't want to be out of school if they had the option to go," Zane pointed out.
"Yeah...My sister wouldn't want to be out of class for long," Chazz added.
"No...Rosa won't want to get behind...if we want to speed up in our tutorials," Tyson added. He and Rosa had wanted to speed up in their studies so they could graduate in the spring with the rest of their friends.
"About that," Chancellor Shepherd said. "You kids have made it to senior level. Tyson...you and Rosa faced something together that only a certain group of duelists have faced. Consider yourselves seniors. Or should I say...you've had a field commission and promotion given to you..."
Tyson stood up. "Th-thank you, sir..."
Atticus, who had finally awakened and heard the chancellor's words, grinned. "Way to go, Tyson!" he cheered, slapping the Ra on the back. Meanwhile, Syrus wondered how Annie would feel about missing school. She might be comforted that everyone was, and not just her, but he hated the fact her fears had come true.
Jaden got up and clapped Tyson on the back. "You did it, Tyson! Great job...and when Rosa wakes up later, we can tell her."
"Yeah...thanks, Jaden..."
"What, no Sarge?" the Slifer asked in surprise.
Tyson met his eyes. "Not until all our soldiers are safe...A general on the front lines is at risk of meetin' the Great General the same as a grunt...unless you want me to call you Sarge..."
Jaden shook his head. "No, Tyson...when you want to again..." He moved over to Sy. "Sy...we aren't out of school...we're just...dang it, Bastion, we need you awake for this stuff," he grumbled. "Kisara, what kind of school is it when you're studying through the Internet?"
"Online school," she answered.
"Oh, okay...we're still at Duel Academy, Sy...and we'll go back," Jaden continued.
Syrus looked up at his surrogate brother, frowning. "I-I know...it's just," he mumbled, looking away. What if the other stuff Annie said happens, too? What if... he wondered sadly, terrified that Annie might...
Jaden hugged Sy tightly, almost sensing those thoughts. "We're going to save her...Camula's not going to know what hit her...Last time, we didn't have the Neo-spacians...And I still have that shadow charm," he concluded, pulling it out of his shirt.
"And I'm okay, Syrus," Zane added. "She won't do what she did last time."
The bluenette sighed. "Right...we'll save them. I mean, it's two against one, right?"
"Three against one, if she wants to deal with me in a fair fight," Zane concluded.
"Zane," Will said with obvious worry in his voice.
"Dad...I have to help," Zane asserted, his dark eyes set.
It was Darla's turn to sigh. "We can't stop you from doing that, Zane. But...just be careful, all right? I can't imagine losing both of my boys..."
"Mom...we'll find our way home," Zane answered.
"Yeah," Jaden added.
Chazz looked at his extended family. "You'd better come home...but...should we save the goodbye speech? You guys don't duel for a couple of days..."
Aster couldn't help it. He started to laugh. "What is it with us and goodbye speeches?"
Syrus grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh...well," he muttered.
Atticus thought, yes he thought, for a few moments. "Well, we're just really close friends and we worry about each other."
Kisara couldn't help but smile. "It's scary how much we're alike. My friends and family did the same thing..."
"Saving the world, dueling the bad guys...I see a cycle," stated Hiro.
Syrus blinked. "That's weird...you think, there'll be someone after us, too?"
"Yeah...probably," Kisara answered. "And it'll be just as insane..."
GXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGX
It was nearly fourteen hours before Bastion felt himself being shaken awake. "Bastion...honey...the doctor is here...it's about Violet," his mother was saying. "Wake up, sweetheart..."
Bastion's gray eyes opened and he noticed where he was. "Mum? How long have I been..?"
"Nearly fourteen hours, honey. You were exhausted."
He sat up from his cot and a tall, lanky doctor with blonde hair and gooseberry green eyes came over to him. "Hello, Bastion, I'm Rob Kirk...I worked on your fiancée. She's going to be fine, though I was a little bit worried for a bit. She's in the trauma ward and she's going to stay there for a day or two. We can't let her in the normal ward with her friends yet. The slightest infection can be fatal and we want to give her body time to recover, all right?"
Bastion nodded. "Can I see her?"
"Of course...she isn't awake yet and that'll give you time to get some scrubs on," Rob answered.
The young man nodded again. And then Bastion noticed the new visitors in the room. "Alan? Barbara? Bobby and Haylee...you're all..."
"We got here as soon as we could, Bastion...and you did well again," Alan said gently, moving to his future son-in-law.
It was around six in the afternoon on Monday, and Rosa was awake this time. Tyson had told her about their promotion, and she'd been just as excited as he'd been. She now turned her head to face Bastion before he left. "I knew you could save her, Senor Bastion. Say hola for me, all right?"
"Of course, I will, Rosa," Bastion answered. "I'll tell her you'll all see her...Are you coming with me?" he asked the Haverbrooks.
Alan looked at Barbara. She had obviously been fighting her emotions and worry ever since they received the news. She now turned to the doctor. "Is that...all right, if we all see her at once?"
Rob nodded. "Of course you can...You'll all have to wash up and put on scrubs. I think we can find something in your size, little lady," he said, bending to Haylee's level.
Haylee nodded. "I wanna see Sissa..."
"That can be arranged," he said easily.
"Hey, thanks for fixing up my sister, Dr. Kirk," stated Bobby, smiling. His teasing and pranking had always been good-natured, and he'd been just as worried as his mother.
"My pleasure and call me Rob, okay?" he said as they exited the room. Kisara followed in order to help properly dress everyone. "Kisara, perhaps you'd better tell them how this will be?"
"Okay, Rob," she said easily. "Guys, Violet has a lot of bandages on her. She's also got stitches in places. The nursing staff only just got a hospital gown on her a little bit ago so they were sure her wounds got enough air. She'll have an oxygen tube in her nose, but she is very badly bruised up. Haylee, it might be a little scary, sweetie..."
"I wanna see Sissa..."
Kisara looked at Rob, who nodded in understanding. "Okay...we just wanted to be sure you'd be okay."
Alan nodded too. "Thank you..."
"If you do get scared, just tell me, sweetie. Okay?" stated Barbara shakily. The thought of seeing her daughter in such a state like before upset her, as much as she wanted to be strong.
Bobby placed a hand on his mother's shoulder. "Mom...it'll be all right..."
"I'm not afraid!" Haylee said, trying to be tough.
And then the family was taken into what looked like a place where doctors scrub in for surgery and dressed in surgical scrubs. Bastion had a forest green pair, as did Alan, while Bobby and Barbara had blue pairs on. Haylee took a moment to fit properly, but the two doctors soon had her in a pair of tiny lavender scrubs. They then headed into the room where Violet lay. She was sleeping and she was a sight. Her face had small bandages and was bruised, and her left arm was splinted and bandaged as it had been broken. Her right arm was bandaged as well, as it had been burned quite a bit during the Hinotama attack. The infected leg had been drained and was also heavily wrapped. She also had an IV running into her arm as well.
"Oh, my love..." Bastion whispered. There were five chairs set out for each of the family to sit in and Alan insisted that Bastion take the closest one to Violet. The young man took Violet's hand...and began to cry silently.
Bobby was sitting next to Bastion, and placed a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. It hurt to see his little sister like this, in even worse shape than she'd been in after the incident in Cleveland. "Vi," he moaned.
Barbara had placed a hand on her daughter's arm, the sadness welling up within her as she began crying as well. "Oh, Violet...Violet..."
Alan put an arm around his wife, not able to hide his own tears. "Barb, she'll be...she'll be okay..."
"Sissa," Haylee said, touching her sister's fingers. "You're okay...Bastion saved you..." Bastion, for his part, just couldn't say anything at that moment.
A groan was heard, but it hadn't come from any of them. Violet's fingers twitched, eyelids quivering for a moment before opening. She winced, grimacing at the soreness and pain she felt. "Ooh.....anyone get the license plate number of that truck....?" she muttered, coughing a little.
"Violet? Oh, darling," Bastion managed.
"Sissa!" Haylee gasped. "You're awake!"
"Hey, Violet...welcome back, sweetie," Alan said, wiping his face.
Barbara would have crushed her daughter in a relieved hug had it not have been a bad thing for the young woman. "Oh, sweetie, thank goodness!" she exclaimed.
Bobby sighed and shook his head, smiling. "Geez, Vi. Even joking around when you're in the trauma center," he muttered.
Violet managed a weak grin, looking at her parents and siblings before turning to face her fiancé. "Bastion...you..." She took a breath. "You were...amazing...you beat her..."
Bastion looked at her. "I broke my promise to you...I'm sorry..." He was looking at her with pain in his eyes. "I didn't want to kill her, but…"
Violet blinked, confused for a moment until she realized what he meant. She sighed, shaking her head lightly since her neck was pretty sore. "Bastion, I...you had to. I...understand. If you didn't, I...I wouldn't be here. And I know you wouldn't be, either..."
"You're...you're not angry?" he asked. "I..."
"Bastion...it's okay," Alan said. "You had no choice...and because of you, a person who did evil will never do it again. She chose what happened to her...not you. So stop torturing yourself."
Bastion looked at Violet and then at her father. He managed a nod. "Violet...Rosa's going to be all right...she told me to tell you hi..."
Violet's eyes widened. "R-Rosa? Wait, what happened to her??" she asked. Violet had no idea anyone else had been in any danger.
Bastion realized and hated having to tell her. However, it had to be done. "When you were taken, darling...Rosa, Alexis and Annie were as well...this was a concerted effort. Rosa was taken by her former fiancé and Annie and Alexis were taken by Camula, the vampire...Tyson dueled Jorge and brought him down. Rosa was hurt but she'll be all right. Annie and Alexis are still missing and Jaden, Syrus and Zane cannot retrieve them for another 30 hours..."
Her eyes widened in shock, and she groaned again. "Oh, no...Annie, she...what if she..." Violet was close to tears at the thought of something happening to her best friend, especially in her condition. Of course, she was worried about Alexis as well, but Alexis was strong and healthy.
"Shh...darling...we'll get them back somehow...you need to get your strength back..."
"And you do as well, Bastion," Kisara added. Bastion had dark circles under his eyes despite his nearly fourteen-hour nap. "Violet, I may need to make him rest for a bit, okay?" she explained to the girl lying in the hospital bed.
Violet nodded, squeezing his hand a little. "I understand...will you...come back later?" she asked. Violet had spent so much time alone; she wanted to be close to him. But she knew he needed his rest.
Bastion looked at Kisara. "Kisara, can't I..?"
Kisara and Rob looked at each other. "No...not now, Bastion. We can't chance any of you getting sick. So you can come back as soon as you're well rested. Violet, everyone will stay just a little bit longer and then Bastion has to go get something in his stomach and then he has to go rest...but he's not the only one...I have to make the Truesdale boys and Jaden rest. They can't fight a duel when they're fighting their own fatigue." Bastion conceded Kisara's point reluctantly.
Violet sighed sadly, eyelids drooping. 'Maybe I'll sleep through most of the time he has to be gone,' she thought, yawning. She had spent most of the little energy that remained in her in just those five minutes of talking.
"Sissa...you sleepy?" Haylee asked.
Violet sweat-dropped. "Uh, well...I am a little," she replied.
Bobby smiled a little. "That's Vi for you...always using her energy up like lightning," he joked.
"Bobby," Alan said warningly.
"Okay...you four can stay since you had some rest...but only for an hour...Bastion, come on," Kisara said, taking him gently by the arm.
"I'll be back, my dear," Bastion said softly to his love as he stood.
She nodded her head ever so slightly, all she could manage. "I know you will...I love you, Bastion-baby..."
He gently kissed her fingers. "I love you too, darling..." He followed Kisara out of the room and down the hall. "Kisara...how long?"
"Until I see you not looking like something out of Michael Jackson's 'Thriller,'" she answered sternly. "You look like you're dead on your feet. We're going back to Rosa's room for a bit and you'll eat something. Then you're going to take a pain reliever/sleep aid and get at least 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Okay?"
The young man nodded, knowing better than to argue with her. "All right, then..." They headed back into Rosa's room and everyone looked up.
"How is she, Bastion?" asked Syrus. He was wondering why only Violet's family had been able to stay, too.
"She's all right, but she's tired. She was awake for a few moments and I told her everything...Kisara made me leave though because she's worried I'll become ill if I don't take care of myself. Violet's parents and siblings will be taking a break in one hour...but I need one now..."
"Well, at least she's okay," stated Atticus, smiling happily. The Truesdale, Yuki and Rhodes families glanced at each other, however. There were still two more that needed to come home.
"Jaden, Syrus and Zane...you boys need to rest as well," Kisara said commandingly.
Syrus blinked in surprise. "But I feel fine..."
"So do we," Zane and Jaden said tightly.
"You can't stay up and you've been up for several hours. Do you want to win that duel in two days?" Kisara asked pointedly.
Syrus sighed, wondering again why it was so hard to win an argument with a doctor. "All right...I guess I'll rest some more..."
"Sy, you're getting circles under your eyes and you're pale...you, your brother and your friend are doing what Bastion is doing. You'll get a snack and go down to our family rest area. You'll have beds where you can sleep and I'm giving you each pain reliever/sleep aids to help you sleep uninterrupted for eight hours with no dreams." Jaden and Zane nodded.
Syrus also nodded. He had to admit that some sleep did sound good right about now. "Get some rest and then you'll be in top shape to save the girls," added Darla.
And so the four tired young men followed the young doctor to the cafeteria. She made sure they ate and then made sure they took their medication and fell asleep in the family relief area on bunk beds.
GXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGXGX
The four young men slept until 8 o'clock Tuesday morning. Scout awoke them and got them into clean clothes and made them eat some breakfast. "Syrus...someone's here to see you...They came into town early yesterday afternoon, but your mom wanted to wait to tell you until they could come to the hospital."
Syrus blinked in surprise. "Huh? Who is it??" he asked.
And then, Scout waved the people in question over to the table where the young men were eating. "Hey, Syrus," Kathy Hanson greeted, standing with her husband and son.
Syrus was shocked, and nearly fell out of his chair. "K-Kathy? Alex? Bobby? What are you all doing here?!" he asked, eyes wide.
"We came to give our future son/brother-in-law some encouragement for the coming fight," stated Alex.
"You doin' okay?" Bobby asked gently. It was obvious the past few days had been hard on the 21-year-old. When his parents had gotten the call and informed him of his sister's abduction, Bobby had gone straight to the Sacred Heart Church. He had lit candles for each of the kidnapped young women and prayed for several hours non-stop. The priest had had to tell him to go home and get some rest.
Syrus frowned, but nodded slightly. "Yeah...just worried about Annie is all. I mean, she wasn't in very good shape when it happened..."
"If she hasn't had another bad attack, she may be okay," Bobby reasoned. "Right, Dad?"
Alex nodded. "Yes, that's right, Bobby."
Syrus frowned again. "But...what if she did?"
Kathy, Alex and Bobby exchanged glances. "That's a possibility, and if it happened, it may have weakened her...With any luck, it didn't happen, though," Kathy offered.
Zane took a deep breath. "Camula's a vampire..."
"Vampire? Are you serious?" Kathy asked in horror.
"Annie didn't say anything?" Jaden asked.
"She told us that Camula was evil, but she didn't mention that," Kathy said. "Syrus," she murmured and sat in a chair. He looked at her, the fear and worry obvious in his eyes. Syrus wasn't afraid to duel Camula or get beaten and lose his soul, but he was afraid he'd lose Annie.
"I need to know what happened your first year...what happened with Camula. Please tell us," Kathy asked as Alex and Bobby sat down as well.
Syrus glanced over at Zane and Jaden, then sighed. "It's a long story, but...it all started when..." And he told them of her arrival, and how she'd dueled Dr. Crowler and taken his soul. How Camula had dueled Zane and taken him captive to make him lose and get his soul. And finally how Jaden had dueled and beaten her, so that her own soul was taken by the shadows.
The Hansons crossed themselves. Bobby pulled something from a bag he carried. "Here...this might help." He handed a bottle to his future brother-in-law. The bottle had a cross on it. "It's holy water..."
Sy blinked, looking from the bottle to his future in-laws and back again. "Thanks...hopefully it'll help..." After all, holy water was supposed to hurt vampires, right?
"Yeah...It'll protect you and maybe take Camula down," Kathy added.
Jaden and Zane looked up at them. "She was interested in me," Zane groaned softly. "But how she got out of the Shadow Realm..."
Syrus tightened his grip on the bottle, determination filling his eyes. "Well, it doesn't matter how she got out. 'Cause we're going to put her back in," he replied.
"Or...we'll take her down completely this time," Zane added.
"Well, you boys still have quite a few hours left until then. I'd use that time to prepare yourselves if you haven't already," Alex replied.
Jaden nodded, as did Zane. "We have our decks. And we'll bring Annie home somehow," Jaden said.
"Yeah," Zane added.
Syrus nodded. "And Alexis."
"We know, Sy," Zane said. "Alexis is like my sister. She and Sy are the same age and her brother and I are best friends. We have been since we were really little kids."
Alex smiled a little. "I'll bet she's looking out for Annie, then. At least they're not alone."
"Yeah...I just hope Camula hasn't scared them too bad..." Jaden sighed.
Syrus smiled a little. "Knowing Alexis...she'd probably start fighting Camula herself if she had the chance." The boys who knew and loved Alexis well nodded in agreement. But meanwhile, dueling was the farthest thing from Alexis Harper Rhodes' mind.
In the dark castle, the situation was not good. Annie had barely eaten and had had another major attack thanks to Camula. Alexis wasn't in as bad shape as Annie, but she was also drained. She couldn't get much sleep for fear that something might happen to her friend. Alexis adjusted Annie's position on her lap, her legs being used as a pillow since the ground was too hard. Guys...where are you? she wondered. Alexis didn't know how long it had been, since there were always shadows and barely any real light.
Annie moaned weakly. "A...lex...is..."
She'd started dozing off, head bobbing against her chest until Annie's voice reached her ears. Alexis snapped awake, shaking the haze from her head before looking down at her friend. "Yeah, Annie?" she asked quietly.
"They're coming...I'll stop her...won't let her hurt Sy...dead anyway..."
Alexis had simply nodded to what she said, until the last part reached her ears. "No, Annie, don't say that. You're gonna make it...we'll get you out of here. Just hang on," she begged sadly. It's all I can do, the Queen of Obelisk thought, agonized. Was she going to be the only one here when Annie..? No…she's not going to die! I can't let her... But what could Alexis do?
"Chest hurts..."
"I know, Annie. Help will be here soon...we'll get you to the hospital..."
Annie panted. Somehow she sensed the end was coming, unless a miracle happened. "I'll save us all..."
Alexis, for some reason, had a strange feeling Annie would save them. She just hoped it wouldn't cost her friend her life in the process. Alexis turned her gaze the shadowy ceiling, which seemed to go up for miles but really wasn't all that high. "Guys...hurry...please..."she whispered.
Annie slumped in Alexis's lap. She knew she had to save her strength for what was to come. Help me, Lord, she prayed in her head.
So two have made it home, albeit injured, but alive. And now, Jaden, Zane and Syrus must attempt to save the two remaining young women. Will they do it? Will Annie survive, and what is she planning? Find out next time in "The Vampire and Moon Power." So please read, review and stay tuned until next time! Thank you!
