Disclaimer: I do not own I am Number Four or Lorien Legacies. They belong to Pittacus Lore who wrote the book series and D. J. Caruso who directed the 2011 film.

Chapter Nine: Malcolm's Secret.

Sitting across from Avalon, Malcolm knew that he couldn't hide the truth any longer and he never thought that he would be telling it to her; he had expected to take it to his grave. He ran a hand through his hair as he took a deep breath, he couldn't believe that this was happening, he was a little surprised that she had been able to track him down; he never expected for her to be able to do it alone.

"I know that this must be hard for you," Avalon reassured him, she had known when she set out to find him that this wasn't going to be easy; he had been hiding this for so long and now he was being forced to come clean. Malcolm licked his lips as he looked at Avalon, he wondered if she would understand why he had done what he had; he had never had a choice and he feared just what people might think of him when they knew.

"I guess it all began back in 1991," Malcolm said thinking back to how this had all began, he had gone into hiding knowing that he had no other choice if he wanted to keep his loved ones safe. There wasn't a time that he had ever forgotten the decision that he had made all those years ago; he was sure that what he had done had been forgotten by others though.

"I had gone to Paradise on a scouting mission for the council, they wanted to know if we could survive here on earth; it was there that I met Susan," Malcolm explained softly, he stared down at his feet thinking about everything that he had done. There were moments that he regretted his actions and his decision to just hide away from the world especially when the Mogadorians had started to kill the Garde.

"She was on spring break in Paradise and was visiting some relatives; she had the deepest brown eyes that I have ever seen," Malcolm mused smiling to himself, he couldn't help but think about how simple things had been for him back then.

He hated that things had ended like they had but he had left to protect her when the Mogadorians had shown up; he had no idea what he would have done if she had been targeted for knowing him. Avalon listened intently, she had a feeling that she knew where he was going with this, but she was silent waiting for him to continue; she had to much riding on what he had to tell her.

"I'm not from earth as I guess you know. But she was the one I had searched the whole of Lorien for, she was my bonded. We dated for a few weeks before I asked her to come and live with me," Malcolm explained with a weak smile. He had truly loved Susan and it had broken his heart to leave her behind, he wondered if he would ever see her again; he had hoped that this would all be over quickly but there was no sign of that happening. It had been years since he had last seen Susan and Malcolm could only wonder how she was right now; she was everything to him and he hoped that she was safe.

"Within the next year we were married and expecting our first child. Samuel Harold Goode was born 12th May 1995 he had his mother's brown eyes and my hair," Malcolm recalled with a sad smile, he hadn't just left his wife behind, but his son and he knew that his absence would greatly affect his son. He had never told Sam the truth about his heritage and Malcolm truly hoped that the fact that Sam had no idea about what he truly was would be enough to keep him safe; the last thing that he wanted was for anything to happen to him. Avalon stared at Malcolm, she hadn't been expecting this and she knew that this changed things.

Stopping for the night, John couldn't help but all his thoughts to turn to Avalon and wonder if she was okay; there was no news about where she could be, and John had to accept that she had chosen her own path. He hoped that she would be alright, and he knew that with the war that was descending upon them that he couldn't protect her from everything and she needed to do what she was doing.

Sam was seated beside him, staring at the fire that they had started; they had not long arrived in Asia and they were already trying to find the crystal that they had been sent to recover. They knew that there was a chance that Avalon wouldn't be coming back for a while and the three had decided to carry on with their mission.

Sam had started to feel light-headed and had been a little quiet since they had stopped for the night; he hadn't felt well since they had arrived, and his headache only seemed to be getting work. Six looked at Sam concerned, she could see that he wasn't feeling very well and slowly made her way over to him; she had noticed that something hadn't been right for a while.

"Are you feeling okay?" Six asked looking at him concerned, she didn't want anything to happen to him even if she wasn't going to admit that she had feelings for him. Sam nodded and wiped the sweat from his head and nodded when suddenly the world started to tip and the next thing Sam knew was Jane and John looking down at him.

"Easy Sam," John said helping him sit upright, he looked at Six confused about what had just happened; he hadn't expected his friend to look so ill in such a short time. Sam felt a strange feeling in his fingers making him look down at them, he had never felt like this before and he felt like he wasn't himself right now.

"My hands feel strange," Sam croaked feeling a little sick, he sounded off making the two Garde look at him concerned; they didn't know what was happening, but they knew that this wasn't going to end well. The sensation in his head started to tingle as well, making him sway from side to side; John gripped on to Sam's shoulder to keep him from falling on the floor again.

"I don't feel so good," Sam said before his world went black making Six jump up and look at John panicked; she wasn't sure what was going on, but she didn't like this, and she had a feeling that this wasn't the least of the problems. They were in the middle of nowhere right now and it wasn't like they could just take him to a hospital; they would be arrested on the spot of they tried to get help since they were on the most wanted list.

"Do something," Six demanded while John attempted to set Sam gently on the floor; his mind flashed back to when Avalon had gained her first legacy, she had passed out as well. There was no way that could be happening to Sam, he was human, and the development of legacies was only something that could happen to the Garde.

"It's not possible," John whispered what was going on, it wasn't possible; he knew that there was no way that Sam was developing a legacy, he would have to be a Garde for that to happen. Six looked at John wondering what he had thought about, she needed to know why he had collapsed and she knew that John had an idea about why it had happened.

"Sam's starting to develop Legacies," John explained while he moved to sit down while Six looked at him then back at the unconscious Sam; she didn't know what to say about what John was suggesting. There was no way that could be possible since they were sure that Sam would have mentioned something about him being a Garde to them before now.

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