CHAPTER NINE
NOTE: The number below is the Loric number of the Garde who tells the chapter
4
After a heavy rain there will be sun shine.
Or at least you'd think so. Right now, all that comes after the heavy rain is even more rain.
Welcome to Canada.
We impatiently wait for the border official to return our fake documents, but he keeps typing things into his computer. From time to time he glances back and forth between Sarah, Six, Nine and me, then at his computer screen, then at our passports.
There obviously is a problem. The official has been holding us up for more than half an hour and the other people in the waiting line behind us are starting to get angry and complain loudly.
I can't blame them. Anyone would be mad after waiting for so long in the pouring rain. We're all soaked to our skin and it just keeps getting worse. I wonder what genius didn't think of building a roof over the passport control. After all, bad weather is part of the agenda in this country.
Just about fifty yards away from where we're standing there's the entrance to a train station. Our train will leave shortly, one that will take us up higher to the north, but we're still stuck here with the official not letting us cross the border. If we want to take the train, we should convince him to let us pass.
I can almost sense the official's nervousness. He's a young man, about twenty-five years old. A short downy beard is growing on his chin and his border police hat tightly rolled over his forehead.
He seems stressed as hell. Small streams of sweat run down his face, even though it's really cold, and his eyes keep twitching from one side to the other. I sigh, trying to calm myself down. One could get an epileptic seizure just from looking at this guy.
I swallow my anger and glance over my shoulder for the millionth time this hour. My gaze wanders from side to side, scanning the area for anything dangerous. I'm ready to grab the others and bolt off at the smallest arouse of suspicion. The Mogs have had more than enough time to get here by now, and I don't want to get caught off guard once more.
But again, all I can see are the angry people in the line behind us and a group of kids on their way to the train station. Nothing has changed since I last checked.
"Dude, please," Eight says to the border official and I turn back around. "We're freezing over here. If there is something wrong with the documents, tell us. If not, just let us pass already."
The young man pretends he hasn't heard him and points at the Loric chests at our feet. Each of us has one of them; Sarah agreed on carrying Nine's, as he left it with us when he ran off to help Six.
"What's inside there?" The man says and I roll my eyes. This must be the tenth time he asks this question today.
"Once and for all," I say. "We told you already, these are the newest findings from a sunken ship near the Gulf of Mexico. The ship is believed to be from pirate times, but it's not sure, so we are taking it to the University of Toronto. Experts will hopefully be able to tell us more about the chests."
"And why would four young people like you be trusted with such an important assignment?" He asks.
"We are students of the famous Professor Oakeneck," Marina answers and I'm sure she just made up the name. The man raises an eyebrow, so I quickly say "Don't tell me you haven't heard of him," and give him an assessing look.
"Umm, of course I've heard of him. And you are what, archaeology students?" he replies after shortly hesitating and I nod.
"So we take these treasure chests directly to Toronto, where they will be examined by professional archaeologists," Marina says. The official nods and looks back at his computer screen. A moment passes, and I almost think he's going to give us the documents back, but then he begins to type into his computer again. I grit my teeth and try to contain myself.
What were we thinking when we had decided to simply cross the border like any other person? Did we actually believe we could just pass by, being the most wanted people in the whole country? It's just a matter of time before the US government and with it the Mogadorians finds out our position, if it hasn't happened already, and then we will be in some serious trouble.
No, we have to get to that train station right now, we've wasted more than enough time.
"Hey, dude, our train leaves in two minutes and if we miss it …" I start saying, but Eight takes a step forward and interrupts me.
"Okay, I've had enough, buddy. Usually, I'm a calm guy, but you've taken it too far. You got the choice: Either you let us pass right now or we contact the Professors at the University of Toronto and tell them we're being groundlessly held up for such a long time at the border. Maybe they'll have a word with your supervisors, who knows. Anyway, I'm sure we all prefer it the easy way, don't we?" Eight says with a disturbing, almost panicking undertone in his voice.
What he's doing is dangerous. Trying to pressure the official might not be the best idea, and the fact that we're bluffing makes it even more risky. But we're running out of time, and we have to act as long as we still can.
And then, out of the corner of my eyes, I see why Eight suddenly is so urging, and my heart makes a jump to my throat.
The Mogs are already here.
About twenty to the left, thirty to the right and who knows how many more behind us. My mind is racing. How can that be? When I looked, just a few seconds ago, not a single Mog was to be seen. And now there's a whole horde of them.
I instinctively grab Sarah's hand and pull her closer. She gives me a surprised glance and I mouth "Mogs." Her eyes widen and she gets alarmingly pale. I instantly regret telling her, as she looks as if she's going to just faint any second, but she has to be ready when things get fast
The Mogs position themselves in a big semicircle around us, blocking every escape route. More come from behind, some even from the waiting line behind us. I don't dare to move. They must have been there for a while now, and I am stunned at how we didn't even notice them all this time.
There's way too many to fight them all. We will be dead before we even get the chance to use our legacies. I close my eyes when I realize our only hope is to run past the border official and into the train station, the only direction that isn't blocked by the Mog soldiers.
And we'd better do it fast.
The people that are waiting in the queue behind us start noticing the Mogs. They probably don't look like aliens to them, rather like strangely dressed, hooded humans, and so the humans don't realize in what a dangerous situation they are. They have no clue what is about to go down any moment.
I bite my lip. Even though the Mogadorians are trying to keep themselves a secret from the public, they'll grab any opportunity to capture or kill us, even if that means they might compromise themselves. They are going to open fire on us, no matter what. They won't care if there are civilians in their way; they'll just shoot them down to get to us.
Which only convinces me more of us having to get out of here, far away from all those innocent people.
The Mogadorians have taken their positions, attaching those cruel-looking guns to their arms. A shocked gasp goes through the crowd and scattered cries ring in the rain, when the people notice the weapons.
My whole body tenses and I don't dare to exhale. The Mogs wait for something to start shooting, maybe for us to make a move, or an order from their commander.
I wonder how I could let it come to this. Why did we wait for the official to give us back our documents? Now I see it was obvious he was just buying time for the troops to come here. We saw the trap and yet we walked right into it.
And while I keep cursing our failure to act, the border official finally decides it's time to let us pass. He gives us a formal smile, apologizes for our inconveniences and hands us back our documents. Oh, how much I want to strangle this guy right now.
I don't know what else to do, so I reach forward to take the passports. As I put them into my bag, Eight silently clears his throat. I catch his eyes and he motions towards the train station. "Run," he mouths. I take a deep breath and nod.
And then we run.
I grab Sarah by the hand and levitate our two chests with my telekinesis. Before the Mogs can react, we're already past the border line and dash towards the entrance of the train station.
Then the Mogadorians open fire and the whole place erupts in chaos.
Surprised, terrified screams and shrill cries come from everywhere. The people run around aimlessly, trying to find cover from the shots or to get to the train station. Some just stand around, stunned and speechless, watching as the Mogs fire volley after volley. Explosions from where the bullets hit the ground light up the whole scene. The sound of the falling rain gets drowned in the deafening noise of the gunfire. And in the middle of all this, the four of us try no to get hit by the bullets.
I try to deflect them, but it's almost impossible to tell what's gunshots and what's just raindrops. We're halfway through our way to the station when it happens.
Just like Ella, Sarah gets shot.
She and I cry out in the same second.
Sarah is yanked away from me and falls to the ground. I stop dead in my tracks, turning around with so much force I am almost ripped from my feet.
Déjà vu, I bitterly think. While I try to spot Sarah in all this chaos, Ella's death replays in my mind. Her, getting shot over and over, the brave but useless attempts to get back up, then her, slumping down and not moving anymore.
The shock and sorrow from Ella's death hasn't left me since, and I can't afford to lose Sarah, too. I would never forgive myself.
Eight and Marina have reached the entrance of the train station and turn back to me. When they realize what happened, and that I'm about to go back for her, Eight shouts at me "Don't, John! That's suicide!"
But I don't care. If Sarah dies, my life would be over either way. How can he ask me to just give up on her? Of course, to them she doesn't matter much, they might even think she's like a millstone around our necks, but to me she's everything.
So I throw all caution to the wind and run back for Sarah. A bullet zips past my arm, another one slightly brushes my thigh. I shove a young woman aside to keep her from being shot. My despair grows the more time passes.
At the same moment I find Sarah - lying on the ground with a big bloody wound in her left calf – I get hit by a bullet. Right between the eyes.
"Oh," I say in surprise and drop to my knees.
The world around me seems to fade away into darkness and suddenly nothing really matters anymore. The only thing I hear is my own heartbeat getting slower and slower, as if saying its final goodbye.
This is it. One less Garde, and with me the hope of retaking Lorien is will be lost. The Mogadorians have won. Ella is dead, who knows what happened to Six and Nine, and now there's only Marina and Eight left. And eventually, they will be captured or killed, too.
And Sarah, Sarah will be taken prisoner again. I can almost see her, rotting in a dark, musty cell until she's old and frail. She'll never see her family again, nor her beloved hometown Paradise. Not even me.
I know I should feel sad, I want to, but somehow, I don't. I can't. Not for Sarah, not for the remaining Garde, not even for failing Henri. All I do feel is an almighty calm overcoming me.
Finally I will rest. There's nothing I can do to change it anymore, in fact I can't do anything anymore, and this insight comes so naturally I can't help but accept it.
It's ridiculous, but I have never been as peaceful and relaxed as I am right now. I am ready to just lie down and wait for the inevitable.
Only the inevitable doesn't come.
A sudden heat coming from the red bracelet around my wrist makes me snap open my eyes. The bracelet starts expanding with a silent clatter, and from one moment to the other I have a six foot shield protecting me from incoming bullets.
Not that it would matter, anyway, as I am already deadly wounded. Why didn't the shield form when it was actually needed? It would have easily saved my life.
Which reminds me, shouldn't I be dead by now? Taking a gunshot in the head, especially one from a Mog weapon, definitely would kill you right away. So why am I still alive?
I take a deep breath. Slowly, a suspicion creeps in.
I raise my hand to where I got hit in the head. There's nothing there, no wound, not even a scratch.
And I feel like the most stupid idiot on earth.
It wasn't a bullet that hit me; it was just a big raindrop. Rain falls down on me and I think I'm going to die. I would shake my head about my own stupidity, but all the suspense and the tension from before come back to me at once. My heart shrivels when I think about how easily I abandoned all my friends.
I bite my tongue. Self-pity won't help now.
Desperately hoping it's not too late, I push myself to my feet and run towards Sarah, using the red shield to block any incoming gunshots. Hundreds of bullets crash against it, creating an uproarious noise.
Miraculously, Sarah didn't get hit by any more gunshots after the first one. The hole in her calf looks seriously bad, the bullet must have broken her shin bone, but it's nothing Marina won't be able to heal.
"Don't worry, Sarah, it'll be alright. Everything is going to be alright," I say in a calming voice, but I'm not sure she even heard me over the chaos around us.
I carefully pick her up, which is harder than it sounds, considering I have a six foot shield around me arm. Without wasting any more time, I turn on my heels and run back to the entrance of the train station, holding the shield behind me to protect us from the Mogs.
Marina and Eight are waiting for us at the entrance. The whole station is crowded with people who try to get away from here as fast as possible. A mass panic threatens to crush the people at the exits.
Once I am inside the station I remember our chests. I must have dropped them when Sarah was shot.
As if knowing what I'm thinking, Marina points at her feet, where all four Loric chests are piled up.
"We got them, when you ran back for Sarah," she says.
"Great," I answer, a bit out of breath. "Marina, do you think you can heal Sarah?"
She nods, but Eight holds her back.
"There's no time for that right now. We have to get to safety first," he says, and as much as I want Sarah's pain to stop, I know he's right. The Mog soldiers will be inside the train station any second now.
"Where do we go? We can't take the exit, it's way too crowded," I say.
Eight points to the only train in the station. "Its destination isn't shown on any of the schedules, but at the moment I don't really care. We just have to get out of here," he shouts.
I nod and we run over to it, Marina and Eight carrying the chests, me carrying Sarah. We jump through the doors, just as they close and the train begins to roll out the back of the station.
For a moment, we stand still, catching our breaths, still not believing we all made it out alive. The train picks up speed and soon we leave the station behind.
I sigh and look around. Surprisingly enough, there are only two more people in our car. I would have expected the train to be stuffed to the gills with refugees from the gunfight, but apparently, almost all of them rather ran for the exit than for the train.
We pick a seat row at the back of the car, and I carefully lay Sarah across it. She groans in pain when Marina puts her hands on her calf. In a matter of seconds, the wound in her leg is healed.
Sarah looks at Marina with a relieved smile. "Thanks," she says, then turns to me. "And thank you, too, my saviour." She gives me a long kiss on the cheek and I close my eyes. I take in the smell of her beautiful hair, and imagine what it would be like if I hadn't been able to save her. What it would be like to never look into her bright, blue eyes, to never hear her voice again.
I shake my head and sit down next to her. It's impossible to think of a life without her.
For a while I stare out the window, holding Sarah's hands in mine.
It still is hard to believe how we all got out of this unharmed. Maybe there is hope for the Loric, after all. We will find out where Six and Nine are, and we'll rescue them, come what may.
I can't help but smile to myself when I remember what Six had said when the Mogadorians attacked us in the school back in Paradise. There is no getting away from the Mogadorians once they find you. You can fight them, you can try running, but you will never escape. Well, here we are, sitting on the train to our safety, every mile getting us farther away from the Mogs.
Sarah leans her head against my shoulder and I wrap my arms around her. With a sigh I lean back in my seat and listen to her steady breath. The calmness from earlier, when I thought I was going to die, starts to return to me.
And then a loudspeaker announcement rings through the train, and changes everything. My brain feels as if it's frozen from all the chills running through my body. All the relief and peacefulness are suddenly blown away, and the thrill of the fight kicks back in, when a deep Mogadorian voice sounds through the loudspeakers.
"Ladies and gentlemen, dear extraterrestrials, we apologize for your inconveniences - hopefully you can forgive us for trying to shoot you - and we wish you a comfortable ride. Next Stop is hell."
Hey everybody,
I am really, really sorry for taking so long to update this, but the past week has been quite exhausting and finding time to write isn't always that easy.
Nonetheless, I want to thank you for your countless reviews, they're really keeping my spirits up =)
So, please let me know what you think, that's what motivates me to write those chapters ;)
I hope to update more often in the next week, as I'll have a lot more time now, so make sure to stay tuned.
Until then, thanks a whole damn lot for reading my story :)