Sorry for the late update (if it wasn't late for you, then I guess I have nothing to apologize for) I've been busy swimming-Yeah, I'm a swimmer-and, of course, sleeping :)
Chapter Ten
John
Six looks at me, her face void of emotion. She's not guilty, nor was she angry. Great. That made it a whole lot worse. I avert my gaze at the ceiling. After a few minutes we remain silent, but I broke that silence by asking, "Why are you so silent? Aren't you guilty?"
"No I'm not. I knew it was coming. I mean, Katarina once told me that if we were to repopulate the planet, a human wouldn't be my first choice," she says sleepily. I look at her, her eyes half closed. I think about explaining why I broke up with Sarah, but Six was so sleepy I guess it could wait till tomorrow. I kiss her good night and close my eyes. I pull Six closer to me and fall asleep uneasily. The only problem was I had a premonition, and it wasn't about Sam.
I see Six with her hands raised in front of a dark and wide cave, so dark that it may not have an end. Her eyes are closed in concentration, beads of sweat lining her forehead. Behind her, Marina and the others are enclosed in a protective bubble, and I recognized Meredith's force field. Large boulders were falling from the cave roof. From the cave, I see Setrákus running towards Six, his staff raised, the pendants on his gruesome neck bouncing. The rocks seem to bounce off him, using the magic of his staff. Behind him thousands of Mogadorian soldiers were running, arms-full of firearms. Setrákus stares right at me, then smiles triumphantly. He raises his cane and a blast of energy erupts from it, directed toward Six—
"John! John, wake up!" Six says, her hands on my cheeks, wiping the sweat from my forehead. The others were awake, their eyes wide and shocked. My head was no longer on a sleeping bag, but was rested on Ella's lap. The Cêpans were gathered around me, and so were my fellow Garde. Six's blue eyes were full of concern. I look at all of them and ask for a drink of water, my voice rusty. Marina hands me a bottle. I take a few sips, and while I do, Cole asks, "What happened? Did he have a bad dream or something?"
"He has the Legacy of Precognition, otherwise known as 'future-seeing'. He only sees visions when he's asleep," Six says, then later adds, "What did you see?"
The words that came out of her mouth echoed in my empty brain. The scene in front of me was slightly moving in and out of focus. Before I get to answer Six's question, I fainted. I hear Six's panicked voice, but it was very distant, like I fell in an echoing pit sixty feet below. Somewhere in my unconscious self a thought forms. Setrákus is going to kill Six.
I wake up with Six's head rested on my abdomen, her blond hair a rat's nest. I assumed she was watching over me when sleep engulfed her. I wasn't on the floor anymore. I was on the bed Ella had occupied. She was still asleep beside me, snoring softly. The others were already awake. Ever so gently I lift Six up with telekinesis. I hop off the bed and lay her down beside Ella, then pull the blanket up to her shoulders. I give Six a quick peck on the forehead then went to use the bathroom. When I come out, Cole was flying upside down in front of me. "Who's Sarah, Johnny?" he asks. Nine perks up then smirks. I should've known; Nine eavesdropped again then told Cole.
"Not now," I say angrily, waving Cole aside with telekinesis than walking casually to my bag, where I get my clothes. When I put on a gray tee, Nine repeats Cole's question in bad imitation of his voice. "What is your damned problem?" I ask as a ball of flame as big as a baseball ignited on each of my palms, resulting in my anger. "You will not use your Legacies against each other," says Nick, who was drinking from a mug beside Rebecca and Crayton. "Then just answer the question!" yell Cole in frustration, still up in the air, leaning backward with his hands behind his head in a relaxed gesture. I can't let them tease me like this. I hate being teased. "Sarah was my human girlfriend. Dumped her officially about a week ago. Happy now?" I snap.
Cole and Nine burst out laughing. The flames in my hands reappear, but when I closed my fist as tight as I dare, the flame dies. "You're such a softie, aren't you Johnny boy!" says Cole between fits of laughter, clutching his stomach and writhing in the air. Nine stopped laughing, and by the glassy look in his eyes he seems to be remembering something. He shakes the thought away then uses the bathroom. I'm beginning to think that I wasn't the only one with a human love interest.
Six and Ella wake up due to Cole's laughter. Ella buries her face under her pillow, covers herself under the sheet then moans, "Make him stop! Make him stop!" Six however, was more aggressive. A blast of wind came from nowhere, causing Cole to fall on the floor. "Asshole," she mutters while rubbing her eyes. "Where's Marina and Meredith?" she asks.
"They're outside, in the dining room on the third floor," says Crayton. He was scanning his two laptops while Rebecca and Nick engage in a conversation. I try not to eavesdrop, as tempting as it could be. At that moment, Marina and Meredith burst through the door, holding trays. On the trays our delicious breakfast waits—Marina's famous pancakes. Ella comes out from under the sheets and practically inhales the pancake on her plate. Meredith hands the plates around. When she hands Nine his share, her hair and cheeks become intense red, like ripe apples. Six and I sit side-by-side on the floor. The pancakes were good, no kidding. In a matter of minutes we were all full. Nine belches loudly. Ella giggles then drinks a cup of water. "We have to get a move on. Before you pack, John, I would like you to discuss about your dream," says Crayton. Here we go again. I tense when all eyes turn on me. "I dreamt about Six," was all I say, and by the tone of my voice they didn't push me. Even Cole didn't laugh. The hand interlocked with mine gives me a gentle squeeze. We pack up, leaving the first grand luxury we have ever attended. With one last touch of the smooth, velvet blankets, I walk out invisibly with Six. We follow the others ahead of us. Bernie Kosar was walking on a leash held by Ella with a doggy frown on his face. I hate walking with a leash, I hear him say. I stifle a laugh and walk out of the hotel.
Nick, Rebecca, Cole, Meredith and Nine hop in the SUV and put our—Six's and mine—things in the trunk. The rest of us enter the pickup truck. Crayton and Marina load their things in the back then starts the engine. Ella walks to the front, tilts the seat and takes a nap. "John, can you kindly search for the app 'Locator' in your phone," says Crayton. I do as I say, then open the app. I wait for further instructions. "The two blue dots are us," Crayton explains, "The red ones are Mogs. The white ones are the Chimæras. The bigger the dot, the more Mogs or Chimæras there are."
"Cool," says Six, her head on my shoulder. Right now I see the American continent. The thickest red dot is in Virginia, where the Head Quarters are. Dust specs of red are everywhere, but none are near us. I also see white dots, meaning Chimæras. Crayton wasn't kidding that he hid them all over the state. The thickest is in Minnesota, where Linda and Jake are, according to Ella. I zoom in on Minnesota, and the dot becomes smaller but its location was more detailed. Marina slightly snores with her head on the window. Six was watching me scan my phone. I exit the app and rest my cheek on Six's head, burying my nose in her hair, which smelled of something like candy. Crayton looks at us in the rearview mirror, but his eyes weren't directed on me. They were squinting on my pendant, which hung in plain view. Six was playing with it, twisting the chain then releasing it, over and over again. "When did your pendants transform?" asks Crayton.
"You know about this?" asks Six, holding my pendant up for Crayton to see in the rearview mirror. His eyes widen. He stops the car on the side of the road and tugs on the pendant, twirling it on his fingers. He repeats his question, a little more shocked this time. "About a week ago, when we stayed at the vacation house. We…sort of made out," I say nervously, my cheeks heating up, like Six's. "This is a powerful thing," says Crayton.
"What is?" I ask.
"You love each other. Has your Cêpans told you about the other gift Lorien gave to us?" he asks. Six and I nod but Crayton explains anyway. "When a Loric loves another Loric, it's either for life or temporary. For me, I mated with my wife for life. It's kind of like imprinting, the one in…what's it called—Twilight Saga? The gift Lorien has given us is to love completely, without jealousy, without anger. That's why when we love, and it's him or her, it's forever. The transformation of your pendants confirms it now."
"Confirms what?" I ask. I really am an idiot, like Six says. God, I'm slow at understanding.
"We've mated," I hear Six whisper. I remember what Henri had said about Six, which seemed like a lifetime ago. Though I don't know her number, or any idea where she is, one of the children who came her to Earth with us was the daughter of your parents' best friends. They used to joke that it was fate that the two of you would end up together. Henri's and Crayton's words fit together like a puzzle in my head. Six. Me. Forever.