Hey guys! Chapter 10 is here! Wow, I can't believe I've actually gotten so far. I never thought I'd be able to focus on a single story for so long.
Thanks to all the reviewers! Colemet Milinia, scone104, thesecondgarde, charasweet, Guest/Sapphire/Prajnaa (wow, you have as many aliases as Eight :P) and revenge-is-sweet-98- thank you guys so much for reading and reviewing.
A tribute to one of my regular reviewers- EpicLoric24, when you read this, let me tell you that you rock! I missed your reviews around here. Hope your exams went well.
Alright, I've jabbered long enough. Chapter 10! Enjoy!
John
'How long now?' I ask softly, careful not to disturb Sarah, who is snoring gently in my arms.
Malcolm glances cursorily at the navigation system before replying. 'Maybe half an hour, give or take.' he says.
Around me, in the helicopter, everyone's fallen asleep. Sam and Adam are curled up in their seats, their heads swaying slowly with the movement of the helicopter. Sarah's position is considerably more comfortable- she's wrapped in my arms, her back pressing against my chest, her head resting gently on my shoulder. Even Malcolm's head is nodding gently, his eyes red and puffy from the strain of staying awake so long almost immediately after a near-death experience.
I slowly withdraw my left hand from Sarah's body and reach out to check the tablet. All three flashing dots have been in the same position for about an hour now- close to the highway in Pennsylvania. About four hours ago, when Sam noticed them moving away from the cave in West Virginia, it brought about a huge bout of cheering, but since then, there's been little excitement, and everyone has slowly fallen asleep. It makes sense to sleep now- we all need our rest, and we don't know what could happen when we land.
But try as I might, I can't sleep. I've had more than my fair share of rest when I was locked in a coma back at Nine's penthouse, and even though that was a mentally exhausting experience, my body feels fresh and rested. I'm too jumpy about meeting the others again to fall asleep now.
'You could use some sleep.' I tell Malcolm sympathetically, as I watch him rub his eyes furiously with his left hand. 'You've been flying this thing the entire day.'
'Not now, John.' Malcolm replies, gritting his teeth to stop himself from yawning. 'We're so close to them. It doesn't make sense to stop now.'
I sigh. He's right. It doesn't.
'Besides,' Malcolm begins. 'I…'
He's interrupted by a cluster of klaxons that start wailing simultaneously, almost deafening me. Sam, Sarah and Adam wake with a jerk, rubbing their eyes in confusion, disorientated and unsure.
Malcolm pales. 'This is a military helicopter.' he says nervously. 'Then…. Then these alarms mean….'
'We're under attack.' I finish.
Ella
'Dad?' I ask, staring at him, unable to believe my eyes. Crayton told me that he had stayed behind during the invasion, that he'd stayed to fight. He has to be dead. The Garde and their Cepans were the only survivors of the invasion of Lorien.
My father can't have survived. John once showed me how the planet looks now. It was completely barren and lifeless. There's no way my father could have gotten out alive.
This is a trick. It has to be. This is Setrakus Ra, assuming my father's form, trying to get to me. I can't let him do that.
'Get away from me!' I yell at him, as he turns to face me. 'I know who you are! You're Setrakus Ra! You're not my dad!'
'You're half-right, Ella.' he murmurs softly, cupping my chin so that I'm looking at him. His gentleness takes me by surprise. In a flash, he starts to change, until a familiar figure stands in front of me. 'I am Setrakus Ra.' he says. He starts to change again, until he's taken on the form of my father. 'But I am also your father.'
'No.' I murmur, as the implications of what he's saying sink in. I back away from him in horror. He follows me, but he doesn't seem intimidating any more. As my father, he looks more like a librarian, thin and serious. That is, until I look into his eyes and see the cruelty glinting underneath. 'You're lying!'
'I'm not.' he says softly, walking towards me. I try to retreat further, and realize with horror that I've been backed into a wall. 'You know I'm not.'
I do. I don't know how, but I believe with utter conviction that he is my father.
'Why?' I whisper, as he approaches me, slowly, steadily, until he's standing level with me. I look up hesitantly at him, hating myself for trembling as I do so. 'Why are you doing this?'
He stops short and looks at me. There's something about his gaze that is almost sad, that gives me the courage not to look away.
No. His gaze isn't sad. It's wistful.
'I thought you wouldn't understand.' he says, reaching out with his hand to touch my cheek. 'There's so much you haven't been told. So much that's been hidden for you. Your entire life so far has been built on a lie.'
His hand brushes my cheek, and suddenly his gaze is keen, scrutinizing. I try not to squirm, but I'm terrified. I feel like an insect being examined in a lab- helpless and doomed.
'I can't tell you.' he continues, his voice becoming grave. 'Words can never explain everything that has happened.' His finger moves slowly upwards, coming to a halt at my temple. 'But I can show you.'
I scream as electricity seems to pass through the point of contact, and then I collapse into a vision.
John
'Open the door!' I scream at Sam, as the helicopter swerves violently, narrowly avoiding a hail of bullets that would have sheared off the rotors.
Sam is still disorientated, but thankfully, he understands what I plan to do. I take a deep breath and activate my Lumen, launching a fireball the moment Sam yanks open the doors.
A Mogodorian ship tried to overtake at just the wrong moment. The fireball slams into the engine, causing a massive explosion.
I lean out of the door the moment well before the shrapnel stops flying. I'm not worried about being hit- I know my bracelet will open out the moment something is threatening me. I'm a lot more worried about the helicopter- the bracelet's shield barely encases me, let alone an entire vehicle.
The wind rips at my face, buffeting me and almost sending me tumbling to the ground far below. I regain my balance just in time to see an entire fleet of Mogodorian ships on our tail.
I launch a barrage of fireballs at them, but they've wised up to the trick. They angle their craft the moment the fireball comes barrelling their way, slamming into the exposed bulletproof casing.
I curse and lob another one their way. It hardly makes a dent.
I can sense the others behind me, crawling to the door to back me up with guns, but I wave them back. Those bullets won't do any damage my fireballs can't. No sense in wasting ammo.
I launch another fireball at them, trying to control its passage through the air. To my surprise, it actually swerves a little towards their engines, but it misses and falls harmlessly to the ground.
I curse. If I had more practise, or if there were fewer of them, or even if the wind wasn't tearing at my skin, disrupting my concentration, I might have been able to take them out. Currently, I'm helpless.
The ships, emboldened by the shortage of attacks, right themselves and start firing. Several bullets slam into the fuselage, and the rotors stutter, but I've stopped most of them with telekinesis. I can still do that.
I'm so focused on protecting the copter that I don't notice the Mogodorian ship that sneaks past us from underneath, until it pulls up and level with the door. I whip my head towards it, but it's already too late. We're doomed.
The entrance to the ship is lying open, and from the stairwell someone gazes out at me, his eyes filled with hatred. He takes in our situation- me, dangling from the vehicle, Malcolm, furiously trying to keep the helicopter in the air, and Adam, Sam, and Sarah looking shakily at him, their guns cradled uselessly in their arms with terror, and laughs. He raises his gun, and before I can react, fires at the engine of our copter.
There's a gigantic screech of metal being torn off as the helicopter jerks to a halt mid-air. The rotors stutter, spinning jerkily, just about keeping us in the air. The General lowers his gun and locks eyes with someone behind me. Adam.
'I wanted to kill you myself.' he says to him, almost regretfully. 'But I've got a score to settle.'
Before I realize what he means, he jumps.
His hands grab hold of my shoulders, and I lose my grip on the frame. I slip forward, dragged out of the door by gravity and the General's immense weight. For a tantalizing moment, we hang there, suspended mid-air, with nothing to support us, nothing but the ground far, far below me.
'Let's see how you survive this, shall we?' the General says, grinning with satisfaction.
Then we fall.
Once again, thanks so much for reading! I love you guys, your support is what has kept the story going so far.
The fillers are over for now, and the cyclone has begun. The next couple of chapters are going to be crazy, to say the least.
Argh! The thing which bugs me most about this series is the pairings. How messed up can one person's love life get? I almost hate writing the relationship scenes, because I know someone's going to get disappointed. The only solid couples were Marina and Eight, and Adam and One, and they're both… Yeah.
Okay, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to be following the books' pairings. At least it's less complicated that way.
Thanks so much once more for reading. Now please review!