Author's Note: Another chapter so soon? Yes it is! Crazy huh? Well, I hope you love this chapter as much as I did writing it. I'd really appreciate reviews on how you guys think the story sounds so far. I hardly hear anything, but you guys keep reading so I assume you like it (hopefully). Also, quick fun fact: STI (Surviving the Impossible) just had its one year anniversary on the 24th of this month! Happy reading!

Chapter 10

Noelle looked back at William to find he had fallen asleep while she was lost in thought. She tucked his arm, which had become cold from the air, back under the blankets and made sure he was warm. She stayed with him for hours as she watched his vital signs become more and more erratic and diminished. He occasionally woke, but his sanity seemed to have completely left him. His speech was incoherent and, at times, completely unintelligible.

It was about half past midnight and Noelle was beginning to tire, but she refused to leave William's side. She had taken care of him since the team had found him injured and alone in the halls, so she would never think of leave him in his greatest time of need. She could tell his time was near.

Upon awakening again, the fog that had clouded William's thoughts seemed to lift briefly. He took his arms out of the blankets and clasped both of Noelle's hands in his with a strength she didn't believe he could be capable of.

"My dear, I haven't much time. Listen to me closely." Will looked at her directly and pulled her closer even as his voice grew louder, "The Black Knight will come. He will! Don't lose hope. And once you have slain the Red Knight you must stay your weapon and yield to the Black Knight. But not before you wake the other White Queen."

"Why should I yield to him?" Noelle whispered. She was afraid and silently prayed he would answer her just this once.

"He bears the mark just as you do." William answered after a beat, but it felt as if it were an agonizing hour.

"The mark of what?" Noelle hoped she could get another answer. She feared this was straying too far from William's mental chess game for him to give her an answer. He gripped her right forearm, slipped his thumb under her sleeve, and pressed it to the inside of her forearm just below her wrist.

"The Mark of Life!" He said with reverence, "Your mark shall bring about the fall of the Red King of Death. But you must first awaken the other White Queen. She hides in his castle, waiting for you. Use your Mark to awaken her. The hidden pieces will follow her.

William fell nearly silent for several minutes, but his physical distress seemed to mount. He sweated and shivered. His face was liquid paper. The pain on his face told Noelle all she needed to know: William was dying. She tried to comfort him in any way she could. She held his hand, stroked his cheek, and simply spoke to him to let him know she hadn't, and wouldn't, leave.

"Noelle," William wheezed, "Listen to me, dear."

"I'm here," Noelle assured him, "Don't worry. I'm listening." He pulled her into a tight hug. Noelle could have swore he was crying as well, but quietly.

"Be careful, my dear," He chocked, then seemed to compose himself. His tone grew strange. It had a certain gravity to it that stirred something in Noelle. It felt as if something in her heart heard William as well.

"Hold fast to your hope," the man, so wise, said, "Never lose it. Hope is all you need."

"But I'm so scared," Noelle nearly began to cry, "I don't want to see people die. I don't want to die."

"It's okay to be scared of death, Noelle," his grey eyes spoke as clearly as his words did, "The key is not letting the fear of losing those you love, or even yourself, control you. Don't ever let your fear control you. You control it. Understand?" His eyes beseeched her to hear his words and keep them.

"I understand," Noelle nodded solemnly.

"Good. Very good," William patted her cheek weakly with his cold hand, "Just do one more thing for me?"

"Anything." Noelle nodded earnestly. She felt honored to carry this man's dying wish.

"Never forget that you're a Clarke. Remember what your family stands for." He squeezed her right arm again, his hand still just below her wrist. The gesture had great meaning, even though it's exact message was lost on Noelle. What he had his hand on and his words combined to chill her spine, not with fear, but with wonder. Isaac, Jerry, Merrilee, Jared, and many others came to comfort William in his time of need and say goodbye for one last time. After a few more sleepless hours the team was forced to disperse to retain their posts as door guards. Only Isaac and Noelle remained after a time.

A few minutes before two o' clock in the morning William gave Noelle and Isaac a small, warm smile, than laid his head down and seemed to fall asleep. Noelle still held his hand and listened as his breathing became shallower and shallower.

Noelle thought about the way William had grabbed her arm, as if he was trying to tell her something. He had touched a part of her right arm that she had a tattoo on. It was her only tattoo and, most notably, everyone in her family had it as well. It was a shield with three points at the top, two from the edges of the shield and one in between them. In the shield was the Ancient Ankh, the Egyptian symbol for life, with a 'C' for her family's name intertwined with the symbol. Hovering just above the middle point of the shield was a small crown. It had a decorated band with three arches coming together to a point above the band forming a simple sphere and cross design. The Mark of Life…? Noelle wondered endlessly.

At 2:28 a.m., Will passed away. Noelle had detached his vital sign monitor long ago, but simply holding his wrist and putting a hand to his chest told her all she needed to know. The sound of his breath had stopped, and the room felt eerily quiet without it. Before she knew it, tears welled up in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. She tucked his arm into the blanket and pulled the sheet over his face. Isaac put a comforting hand on her shoulder, than pulled her into a hug.

"You did a great job." He assured her, "You made his last days comfortable and as peaceful as they could be in a place like this."

"I know," Noelle told him, "I just got to know him so well. He was a friend. It hurts to lose him."

"I understand." Isaac released her, "He was my friend too."

Isaac stood with her and they both faced the seats before the stage. Silence ensued as they both looked at all the other lives they had saved. This went on for a few minutes until Isaac turned to Noelle.

"I have to go soon," he looked sad but determined, "I figured out how to stop the Necromorphs. Since the Marker was dug up it was useless. If I put it back on its pedestal it will suppress the outbreak and stop those things." He spoke swiftly, as if he thought getting his point across more quickly would convince her. Or maybe he was a scared as she was.

Before Noelle could allow herself to tell him 'no' or shake her head, she put it to thought. "Are you sure there's no other way? Don't you want our help?" She offered, but knew he would refuse. She wasn't disappointed.

"This is a job for me," he shook his head, "The less people it endangers the better. I'm willing to take the risk, but I won't risk someone else's life, especially yours."

Noelle nodded her head in defeat. She knew she would never talk him out of it. The Clarke blood line had a stubborn streak that could wrap around the earth several times and still have enough left over to tie the shoes of every survivor in the theatre.

"When are you going?"

"As soon as possible." He looked at her gravely.

"Okay," Noelle gave him a serious look, "But please keep your communicator on. I need to know you're alright."

"You have my word." He gave her a small smile.

Noelle waved as she watched her uncle walking out the door. Tears threatened to flow and her stomach twisted into knots. She was so scared that this was the last time she would ever see him; alive at least. She had decided to keep William's words to herself. She wanted to ponder over them along.

"Be careful." She whispered as he turned the corner and disappeared from her sight. After a few seconds of staring off in the direction he had left, saying a silent prayer he would be okay, she headed back to the stage. A funeral was being held for William.

As many people as the stage and nearest seats could hold surrounded William wrapped body and sent him away with their tears and final farewells. Like all the other deceased, he was carried with dignity to a room and placed carefully down. People took turns laying his personal belongings and mementos of their own beside him. Noelle was given the place of honor as the last person to touch him and set something beside him.

She gingerly placed her hand on his head and cried freely as all the others did. She couldn't think of what to give him, but it suddenly struck her. William reminded her of Earth, or her family, of a time when she wasn't afraid of the dark hallways. She pulled her class ring off her right ring finger. It's blue gem glowed despite the diminished lights, just like William himself. What better belonging to give to the man who reminded her of the wonderful, peaceful life she once had, than an object that provoked the same memories.

Pulling aside the sheets, Noelle exposed his hands. He had been gone for only half an hour so his hands were still untouched by rigor mortis. She opened one of his hands and placed the ring inside, then closed it with the other clasping the hand holding the ring. Her tears struck the blanket beneath her, leaving dark splotches scattered on the cloth. With a final light touch and a final tear, Noelle stood and folded her hands together in silent prayer for William. She prayed that he, and all the others before him, found his way home.

The entire congregation stood a beat after Noelle did. Even the door guards had left their posts to pay their last respects. As the group walked out of the room and shut the door after the last stranglers had left, they realized it was one of their greatest mistakes.

The rush of bodies in response to the sound of clashing and banging metal threatened to overwhelm Noelle as she tried to keep to her feet. As soon she caught sight of the frames where the heavy metal door should have been her mouth went sour and she reached for her gun. Necromorphs were overrunning the entire room. Before she knew what she was doing, Noelle began to guide the terrified mob of people towards the back of the stage. She was relieved to see team members had already moved the sick into the room so now only the other survivors had to make their way in.

Michelle was right at the door helping people in and trying to calm those who were panicking.

"Michelle, is that everyone?" Noelle questioned her quickly. She had to help her team fight the breach.

"Yeah, everyone but the team is accounted for," the young woman was shaking and sweating, but seemed to be handling it, "You guys need to get in here while you can."

"Thanks, hon," Noelle sadly shook her head, "That was never the plan. Stay here. Don't open this door for anyone, until someone reliable tells you the coast is clear."

"No!" Michelle begged Noelle and grabbed her arm, "If you guys stay out there you'll die!"

"I know." Noelle simply nodded, pulled her arm loose, and shut the door. She made sure the lock was engaged before bounding towards the nearest Necromorph she saw. She fired rapidly and brought monster after monster to a bloody end until it nearly became a blur, but it felt like she hadn't even made a dent in the number of them around her.

She often lost sight of the other team members in the dark. Only their shoulder lamps gave her any indication as to where they were. She could feel her body weakening, which only served to scare her more. Her reflexes were slowing and her aim was getting poor.

Dammit, Noelle thought to herself, if I don't pull it together I'm gonna get myself killed. After weeks of little to no food and no sleep for the past twenty-four hours, not to mention little sleep even when she could get it, her body was calling it quits and at the worst of times.

After just having taken a shot to the shoulder by a Lurker, Noelle shot it from the wall and finished it off with a quick bullet to the head. Her head whirled from the toxin in the spike, but she pulled it out as fast as she could. Her head began to clear, but as she turned around she came face to face with an Enhanced Slasher. It was black and highly aggressive, just like the one she had seen in the hall when she had found the aliens, but they were all the same. Even before she could lift her gun to aim the beast swung its right blade and knocked the gun from her hand then swung the other and hit her with its broadside, knocking her to the ground.

Her head struck the cold metal floor and she was too stunned to move. The E-Slasher immediately jumped on top of her and tried to tear at her neck with the tendrils in its mouth, intending to kill her. Screaming and trying to shove it off of herself was getting her nowhere so she tried to make herself think. Scrambling for her gun, she took hold of it once she found it, which she considered a miracle, and smashed it in the head with a nasty right-hook.

Her vision was blurry and starting to darken when the sound of many voices struck her ears. It sounded like voices, an army of them coming from all directions, were yelling war-cries. The sound of just as many feet shook the floor. The Necromorph was still on top of Noelle, but she had stunned it considerably and attempted to shove it off. She nearly screamed in frustration when she found her arms too weak and unwilling to cooperate, but something did the job for her.

The weight on her was suddenly gone, but she couldn't see who had saved her. Her eyes were still going dangerously dark. Only vague shapes and various levels of light registered. As she laid there, momentarily taking in all the horrible screams of people and roars of Necromorphs along with the cries of the unseen army charging through the room, she could feel warm liquid running all over her body. Even in her dazed state she knew it was her blood. The sounds of guns firing and the pained growls of Necromorphs were all she could hear for what felt like an eternity, but it fact was only a few seconds.

"Are you still with me?" a male voice sounded very near her, as if it was just above her head, "Please talk to me. Can you hear my voice?" The speaker sounded extremely worried, but for the life of her Noelle couldn't remember how to answer. She felt like she was floating underwater, the swaying of everything and the diminished sound and sight. Just before unconsciousness, or was it death, dragged her under she remembered see two bright blue orbs, as if someone had held her class ring and a duplicate up to her eyes to see.

Shit! Where am I? Noelle thought to herself with her first flicker of consciousness, Oh my God. Am I… dead? But she couldn't be. Her whole body was still hurting and her head pounded with her pulse. She couldn't detect any light behind her eyelids and the hard surface under her made her think she may still be lying on the floor of the theatre. Soft voices wafted in the air around her, but echoed. This made her think she was in a small room so it couldn't be the theatre. The walls were designed acoustically to absorb sound and prevent echoes.

Noelle had to see where she was. Prying open her eyelids took effort and she was terrified by the result. Her eyes were clearly open, but she could see nothing but darkness. She drew in a sharp breath in her fear. What sounded like a vital sign monitor beside her began to beep rapidly. It had been at a steady rhythm and hadn't registered as anything in her foggy mind until now.

A warm hand clasped her right hand. Her skin felt so cold in comparison. She began to realize she didn't feel the freezing bite of the cold air anymore. It felt like someone had dropped her off in the tropics on a beautiful summer day. She gripped the hand in return, desperately trying to regain her consciousness fully so she could think.

"Can you hear me?" A voice sounded to her right. It was the same voice that had spoken to her as she blacked out in the theatre, "Squeeze my hand again if you can." This time, the tone was soft, but still worried. Oddly, it sounded vaguely familiar. Not wanting to worry the people who had saved her she squeezed the man's hand as he asked. Relieved sighs sounded in the room. It sounded like three to four people were standing near her feet and to her right.

Wanting to see, Noelle reached with her free hand to feel around her eyes for an obstruction. A hand gently stopped hers.

"Stay still," it was the same male voice beside her, "You're still pretty beat up."

"Are the others okay?" Noelle managed to say. Her throat felt like sandpaper and her tongue stuck to the inside of her mouth.

"We got everyone out," the man told her, "but it all depends on how they hold up. We'll do our best to save them."

Ignoring the hand that had stopped her, she pulled her left hand loose and felt around her face. Feeling a piece of cloth, she grabbed it and yanked it off.

Her eyes were immediately blinded by a bright light above her. Once her eyes adjusted she was able to see a light above her, but the design of the casing was foreign. Nothing like that of the Ishimura or even anything she had seen on Earth.

Looking over to her right, she searched for the man who had saved her life. With a short shriek Noelle bolted upright and grabbed the surface below her for support as her head swam. It was one of the aliens from the hallway! It took all her strength to regain her balance and keep herself from crashing to the floor headfirst.

"What the hell!" Noelle yelled as she raised her arms to protect herself and ended up ripping her hand out of the alien's grasp.

"Calm down," the strange man said, "We won't hurt you."

We? Noelle thought. She looked around the room. She had been right; more than one alien was in the room. Two females were standing near one end of the table she had been lying on.

The blood rushing behind her ears muffled noise and her racing heart made her chest ache. All three were dressed like doctors: mostly white and sterile looking clothing. All three moved towards her with outstretched hands, as if they meant to grab her.

"Stay away!" Noelle yelled nearly hysterically. Gathering her focus and strength she leapt off the table and landed successfully, albeit a bit shakily, on her feet. A loud crash followed and something yanked on her chest and neck like leashes. Her eyes darted around until she saw to her right a vital sign monitor and an IV bag lying on the floor. The monitor had several sensors running from it to patches attached to her body under her suit. The IV tube seemed to run up her shoulder until she couldn't see where it attached to her. She realized they had fallen over when the lines were tugged from her jump from the table.

She saw she still had her suit and armor on, now even more worse for wear. Everything seemed to be in its place. Even most her bandages were still there. Her sword, communicator, and inventory section of her RIG were gone though. She spotted those on a small table by the fallen monitor and snatched them up as quickly as she could. Her belt was on in a flash and her inventory was locked into place in less than a second. Hearing the aliens approach from behind her, she whirled around and pointed her sword menacingly.

"Put that down," the male told her gently, "You don't need it anymore. We're not going to hurt you. We're trying to help you." His eyes shone blue and bright, like the gem of her ring. So he was the one talking to me before I passed out. Noelle concluded quickly, And I recognize him. He's the same one that came towards me when I first found them.

Without a second thought, Noelle sliced through the IV tube, sending an unknown liquid spattering to the floor, and the sensor wires with her sword and looked around for an escape route. She was facing the table she had been on. It was in the middle of a small white room with silver cabinets on the walls and black and silver equipment scattered around. The three walls she could see, the ones to her left, right, and directly in front of her, were void of any windows or vents she could use.

Daring a look over her should she found herself face to face with a wall made entirely of glass and metal frame. A door was on the right end of the wall, farthest from her. The two females had moved to stand between her and the door, so that plan was quickly tossed out. She didn't want to have to hurt them because they hadn't tried to hurt her…yet. Still, she would defend herself if they tried grab her.

The blue-eyed male had stepped around the table and was extremely close; only a foot or two away. The room was not much bigger than the typical examine room they had had on the Ishimura, so space was a bit scarce. He stopped but tried to inch forward with his hand reaching towards her. Noelle screamed at herself mentally not to panic, but she was trapped.

"Don't touch me!" She yelled, backing up until she felt the glass hit her RIG. The glass rang slightly as the metal hit it. It gave her a brilliant idea.

Reaching into the seam of her suit's pant leg she produced a throwing knife from a sheath attached to her outer thigh. The two females simply shrank away a few inches, but the male seemed to realized it was a small weapon designed to be thrown for long range attacks and that backing up wouldn't help. He seemed even more alarmed now and raised his hands as if to ward off an attack.

Noelle knew he had no reason to fear; she had no plans at the moment of throwing the knife. Keeping the aliens visible in the reflection of the glass, Noelle began to carve a geometric design into the glass with the knife. Noelle ignored the confused whispers behind her. It was obviously in their alien language so she blocked it out so she could concentrate.

"What are you doing?" the male didn't approach, but seemed concerned, "You can't shatter that glass. Just come over here so we can talk to you." But Noelle was done talking. Talking seemed like a ridiculous thing at the moment. Escaping seemed like the only sensible thing to work towards. She needed to find the team and then figure out what was going on. Anyway, she couldn't trust these foreign beings who could have good or bad intentions, despite anything they said.

The pane of glass she faced went from the ceiling, wall, floor, and side of the door. It was about seven feet high and seven feet across. She started in the very middle with a circle only about four inches across, then drew a square around the circle so that at the midpoints of its four sides they touched. She completed the geometric oddity with a triangle surrounding the square and circle, it's top point facing upwards. This had only taken a few seconds for each shape. She had practiced this many times with her mother. Now she put practice to reality.

Finished, she gripped her knife firmly in her hand and etched a small star in the center of the circle. She glanced up in the glass to make sure the male hadn't tried to get closer. He still seemed too absorbed with, and plenty confused by, her impromptu art project. After the star was finished, Noelle gripped the knife by the hilt as tightly as she could and pressed the point into the center of the star. A second or two of pressing with no results started to make Noelle sweat, but just a second later a loud crack resounded throughout the room and her knife was sunk to the hilt in the glass.

Dead silence rang off the walls and in her ears, as if the crack of the glass had shattered her eardrums. More snaps and cracks began only a moment after the first as the break began to spider-web until it hit the edge of the circle. Only four trails of cracks escaped the circles and headed for the corners of the square. Leaving the square, the trails were reduced to three and ran through the points of the triangle. The trio of cracks raced along the glass until they came in contact with the frame.

Noelle released her pent up breath as the entire pane shattered in a brilliant cascade of glass shards and dust. Even before all the glass had fallen, she was out of the room and running. She found herself in a hall with many rooms just like her own with people from the group in them. Each room had one human and at least two aliens. As she ran she only got glimpses of the rooms, but saw that some people were unconscious on the tables while others, as she had done, were standing and trying to defend themselves. She saw very few of the latter.

She couldn't stop to help, as much as she wanted to, because the male that had been in the room was on her tail.

"Please, stop!" he called after her, "You're going to hurt yourself!"

Noelle only glanced over her shoulder, then poured on the speed. She made turn after turn, went down corridor after corridor, but the rooms never seemed to stop. After what felt like hours to her burning lungs and aching legs, the rooms finally started to prove unoccupied, then stopped altogether.

The long corridor she was in branched off into other hallways on either side, like a spinal and ribs. A narrow hallway to the left caught her attention and she darted into it. It led almost immediately to a wall, but curved smoothly counterclockwise until she hit a wall and found control panel of some sorts. It looked like the panels the engineers used in the Ishimura.

Her terrified flight had left her shaking uncontrollably and gasping for air. From where she stood she couldn't be seen from the corridor so she was able to stop and rest. Alright, now what? Noelle thought to herself, I've got to think.

Author's Note: Yeah, sorry it was such a long chapter, but I got on a roll so this chapter turned out longer than I had originally planned. I look forward to hearing what you think of the story so far. Hope you loved it! Happy reading!