I swung open the Mogadorian's cage, tugging on his blanket. He peeked over his shoulder at me, squinting at the bright light.
"You have to get up. We can't wait. We have to do this now."
"You're kidding."
"Does it look like I'm kidding?" He took in my sweaty physique. Curls sprung from their loose ponytail and clung to my face and neck, my cheeks flushed. The Mogadorian sighed and rose to his feet, shoving past me.
"Sam is the only one she's every talked to openly," Henri said, leading us all down the stairs. "Does that make any difference?"
"It might." The Mog replied, taking a seat across from Eight. He turned her thigh in his hand, examining the scar. "It's a nasty cut. Made deep. Whoever did this knew what they were doing."
"Wait, you think someone did this to her?" I asked quietly. The Mogadorian nodded.
"It's from a blade created on Mogadore. It injects poison into the bloodstream. Has she ever had contact with any? Personally?"
I thought hard about any given time any of us had let a Mogadorian that close to Eight.
"The forest…" I breathed. Everyone looked to me. "I wasn't paying attention, I…I'd completely lost it. It's my fault. They had both of us pinned, one got too close to her…"
"It's not your fault." Nine murmured, kissing my forehead. The Mogadorian gave me look of pity and turned back to Eight.
"That was months ago…the poison's already mended with her muscles."
"So what are you saying?" Sam demanded, his eyes flickering back and forth between Eight and I.
"It'll be incredibly difficult to get it out of her…if we can."
"What do you mean if you can? Why couldn't you?"
"They're becoming one in the same, Fleshling. Kill It and you're at risk of killing her too." The Mogadorian retorted, annoyance growing in his tone.
"So what are we supposed to do?"
"Maybe we should just let it run its course." Abby suggested.
"You mean let it kill her?" I said defensively.
"Obviously it's not getting any better!"
"You don't know her like we do. If it was you we'd be doing the same."
Abby's face scrunched up into some sort of pout, and she folded her arms over her chest.
"Could we bleed it out?" Henri asked.
"It's no longer a liquid," The Mogadorian rose to his feet and faced us all. "Thicker, like blood. It's wound itself into her tissue and throughout her stream. Unless we're able to specifically target it, there isn't much we could do."
"How are we supposed to see it, let alone weed it out?"
"There's nothing we have that could detect it specifically. We don't have enough time." Daurin cried.
"Not unless anyone has X-Ray vision." Emmett sighed, looking to Abby with hope. She shook her head sadly. We stood in a few moments of silence until Nine clicked his tongue. He turned to face me, grabbing my upper arms.
"We don't have X-Ray," he stated, excitement growing in his eyes. "We have Sophia." Confusion struck everybody's face as he pulled me towards Eight, who looked displeased.
"What?" I murmured, following him. Nine ripped off her restraints and grabbed her when she tried to run.
Eight thrashed in his hands, her vines growing anxious when Emmett lifted a flame-engulfed hand.
"Nu uh." Emmett warned, shooting her a look. Eight rested in Nine's grip.
"What the hell are you doing?" Sam barked.
"Sophia can see." Nine stated simply.
"What?"
"She can see. When she does her electric thing, she can see anything, feel everything."
"You think she'll be able to sense something that miniscule?" Daurin piped up.
"Of course she can," Nine said, looking to me. "She's the best one out of all of us."
I kept his gaze before moving to the front of Eight. She hissed at me in frustration, causing Emmett to raise his hand to her again.
"Watch it." He growled.
Nine looked at me and nodded his head in encouragement. I could feel everyone in the room. Their eyes were glued to us, like an audience to a
brand new reality T.V. show.
"Go ahead." Nine whispered. "You can do this."
"What are you doing?" Sam demanded. This night was really doing work on his nerves.
"Burning it out of her." I murmured.
I pressed my palms to her torso and sent the smallest possible current I could throughout her body. Every muscle in Eight tensed and she became rigid beneath my touch. I closed my eyes, letting my electricity see for me. It pulsated through her blood, everything feeling smooth and warm until I hit the cool, metal stream.
"I feel it." I murmured, a nauseous feeling sinking into my stomach. I worked on top of it, layering the toxin with my own current. When every inch of the poison was covered I took a deep breathe. "Eight…" I whispered. "Get ready."
I pushed forward, electrifying every inch of current I'd placed ever so carefully. I felt the toxin start dissolve within my heat as Eight growled in frustration. My palms began to sizzle and I could feel Eight's clothes start to singe underneath them. She started to sob, her tears dripping onto my fingers.
"Marina!" Sam cried in the background. I heard commotion as Emmett wrestled him to the ground. "You're hurting her! She's crying! You're hurting her!"
"She's doing it FOR her, Sam, sit down!"
My stomach did backflips as the poison fought with my own current, threatening to seep into my own blood. My cheeks started to wet and sweat beads slipped down my back. The room was getting hot. I was burning alive and so was she.
"I'm almost done!" I cried, begging Eight to stay with me for a little bit longer.
The current began to retreat, dragging the poison with it. Down her torso, away from her arms, away from her toes. I pulled everything towards the gash in her thigh, the pressure ripping it open. Black liquid started to seep out mixed with her blood, trailing down her thigh. Henri rushed over with the alcohol, mopping up the poison as it flowed from her body.
"She's clean!" Henri shouted. "Sophia you've done it, she's clean!"
I released. My current flew back into my body, throwing me backwards onto the stony floor. Marina dropped to her side, Sam rushing towards her. My heart thumped hard against my chest, oxygen rushing to my lungs. Nine wrapped me in his arms, cupping my face in his hands.
"You did it," he breathed. "You did it Baby girl, you did it." He kissed my forehead, pulling curls away from my sticky face. Tears of exhaustion stained my face. We were whisked upstairs so Emmett could dispose of the poisonous vines.
The kitchen tile felt ice cold against my sizzling skin. I felt sick. Drowning in my own heat and nausea.
"Daurin!" Nine called.
"Take off her clothes," Daurin was hovering over us in seconds, rummaging through his medical bag. "She's burning up, even for her nature."
Nine ripped at my T-Shirt until it was nothing but scraps of cloth. My fuzzy pajama pants were next.
"I liked those." I choked, sweat sliding down my temples.
"This isn't funny, Soph. You're falling apart on me." Nine growled, pulling my hair back.
"They were 15 dollars at Target. You owe me money."
"Only you would try to crack jokes on your death bed." Daurin muttered darkly.
"Death bed?" Nine hissed. "What the fuck are you talking about?
"As Gaurde members your abilities are directly intertwined with your life source. She's pushed it far past her limits." He was everywhere, pushing tubes down my throat in order for me to breathe.
My vision was starting to cloud. Voices were becoming muddied. Nine tugged at my arms and held my head up, trying to clear my throat of the blood that was climbing its way up.
"Come on, stay with me." His voice rang through pitch black. I scrambled to find it, unsure of where to go, unable to see a foot in front of me.
(Dumbledore's Farewell)
"Logan…" I choked. A water drop hit my face.
"I'm here Baby, I'm here just stay awake okay, why won't you stay awake?"
"I'm tired…"
"I know just stay awake. Just a little bit longer I promise it'll be worth it. God damn it, Soph, wake up!" Nine's grip was getting ridiculously tight, if I made it out, bruising was expected. I found Nine's bicep in the dark and clung to it with whatever strength I had left.
"Logan?" More water drops hit my cheeks and neck and chest as Nine rocked me back and forth. "I did it for Eight. I love Eight…"
"I know you do Honey just…..we all love her….be thankful forever…"
"It hurt because I love her."
*Emmett*
"Save her!" Nine screamed, rocking her back and forth. She wasn't moving. She wasn't breathing. I sank to the floor. I hadn't eaten in days and I still felt like I was going to throw up.
I was staring at my own heart, like it had been ripped out of my chest and Nine was four feet away rocking it back and forth, Daurin shoving tubes and needles in it like that would make it better. To the left of them, Eight's eyes fluttered open softly as she woke in Sam's arm. They carried her to the living room. If they'd stayed in the room I would've torn her to pieces.
"Emmett," Logan choked, turning to me. His eyes were watered over. Funny. The strongest in the house was crumbling right in front of me. How many times had I begged for this kind of weakness so I could rise above him. I met his desperate gaze with one of a mad man. "Emmett save her, please. Emmett." He dragged me to her lifeless body. "Save her!"
"Emmett she's your Fall. Hit her with your Lumen." Daurin ordered, injected her with more pain killers. "NOW."
I hesitated, staying at the girl underneath me. Her dark, frizzy curls clung to her sweaty cheeks, her bare collarbone ceasing to rise and fall. Her sports bra was drenched, her torso covered in cuts and bruises from the toll our previous ventures had taken on her body. Even with every reason to do so, I never heard her complain. I stroked her face with shaky fingers. Crumbling. That was exactly what I was doing. Crumbling.
"DO YOU WANT TO SAVE HER?" Daurin screamed, grabbing my shoulders, glaring at me. His eyes were filled with confusion, ready to hate if necessary.
It dawned on me what was capable of being done. She was mine. My Fall. Mine. My responsibility. She was a part of me, whether she liked it or not we were linked, and I could feel the part of me that was her dying as I processed every thought. My Lumen snapped to life and engulfed her, my palm hovering over her chest. White light washed over her bronze skin. I pushed my hand to her collar bone, the skin beneath it becoming blue. Lumen branched throughout her body, revving her current to life, breathing new life into her. The branches leaked towards her toes, wrapped around her body, seeped into her skin.
I felt it rushing over her like a wave crashing through her muscles. Nine pumped her chest, forcing her heart to soak up every ounce of light I could give.
"Keep breathing!" he growled. "Come, on, come back. Come back Sophia I don't wanna do this without you, we can't make it without you come on."
"Sophia we need you to wake up." Daurin pleaded, holding her hand firmly. The branches began to retreat back to their source, escaping her body. I'd done everything possible. Everything more than possible. We waited in silence, sweat dripping down Nine's face.
If she didn't wake up we would rip each other apart. If she didn't wake up, this team was over. This project done, this war lost by default. We would gladly give this up if she refused to stay. We would find them ourselves, beg them to kill us, give them ideas how.
The skin over Sophia's heart glowed blue, the entire kitchen immersed in her light for minutes.
"That's it sweetheart, there we go. Wake up. Come on, wake up." Nine murmured, stroking her face. I let out a sigh of relief as Sophia started to choke on her own air, coughing and gasping for air. She slumped onto the floor, taking in gusts of air, her eyelids drooping but open.
"She's alive." Daurin yelled, going back to work.
Nine sunk against the counter as Henri whisked her away, Daurin close behind muttering about medical procedures and medications.
"Thank you." He whispered, staring me straight in the eye. That's when I knew. Sam hadn't run to her side. Abby and Lauren had only watched from the corner of the room with Henri. Daurin was a doctor, it was only natural for him to rush to her. Nine had no excuse. We all loved Sophia. But he and I loved her more. As if it were possible, it seemed as though he loved her just as much as I did.
"It wasn't for you." I hissed, leaving the room.