Summary: Andros has lost everything that ever meant something to him… did he?
Scarred
Chapter 35
Andros sighed and stared at the screen. The Karovans had settled in remarkably well. That was one less thing cause him a headache. The news about gathering forces brought him fear, but they had been scanning for them and nothing had turned up. That was what was causing him his headache now. He knew what was coming but he couldn't find from where.
"Oh, Drosy, snap out of it already." Zhane said, bouncing onto the bridge.
"Sod off." Andros grumbled in reply.
"The attack is going to happen sooner or later, you can't be all uptight about it. Relax a little and just let it come when it comes. We'll be ready for it, don't worry."
"An armada of enemy fighters is heading for Earth." Deca cut in.
"Told ya." Zhane said, but immediately switched into serious-mode.
That evening
Battle had been raging all day and all forces defending Earth had fallen back to regroup and hopefully launce a more effective counter attack in the morning. They had been asked to hand over the rangers. No one knew exactly what they would do when the 24 hours were up.
The young girl suddenly shrieked and gripped the hand of her grandmother tightly.
"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Her grandmother asked sweetly.
"Sp… sp… spider." The girl stuttered, pointing to the small black spider on the leaf of a bush.
"Don't tell me you're afraid of that itsy bitsy spider." The older woman laughed.
The little girl nodded and drew away fearfully when her grandmother picked the spider up.
"Spiders are very useful creatures. They capture insects and eat them, like those mosquitoes you love so much." Her grandmother teased. "You're not the only one afraid of spiders, so don't be ashamed of it. Being brave is overcoming the things you fear, though."
"I'm brave!" The girl immediately replied.
"Hold out your hand."
Uncertainly the girl did as she was told and froze when her grandmother placed the spider on her hand. After a few moments when the spider didn't move she started to relax and gently dared to reach out to touch the spider with her index finger of her other hand.
"See, spiders aren't so bad." The older woman smiled.
The girl beamed up at her grandmother. Then she placed the spider back on the leave where it immediately hurried off to hide.
"Look, the spider is more afraid of me than I was of him." The girl smiled happily.
"Smart little girl." Her grandmother laughed, suddenly looking around and crouching down in front of her granddaughter. "I want you to promise me something."
The girl nodded furiously.
"I want you to promise me you'll never run away from things you fear. I want you to promise me you'll confront them, fight them and overcome them. Can you promise that to me?"
The girl nodded again, a happy grin on her face. She liked being brave, especially for her grandma. She always got something out of being brave for her grandma, mostly candy or an ice-cream cone.
"Now there's something I want you to do for me." Her grandmother smiled, almost sadly and the girl nodded again. "I want you to run. Run like the wind and don't look back. Keep running no matter what you hear. Go to your grandpa and tell him to send your uncle here."
The girl looked unsure, but nodded at the strange request.
"Go." Her grandmother told her and she turned on her heels, running as hard as she could.
She hadn't gone far when she heard a rough unfamiliar voice ring through the forest and she stopped dead in her tracks to listen.
"Very smart, old bat." It growled.
"You'll never get her, never." Her grandmother replied.
"Oh, I will." The voice promised.
"Over my dead body."
"That can easily be arranged."
A few moments later a scream filled the air, followed by the sounds of hundreds of birds leaving their safe trees as they took to the sky, scared by the scream. For a moment the girl stood frozen. When she heard a twig snap, she ducked into the bushes and started running again.
She darted through the forest, fearfully avoiding the path she had taken into it earlier with her grandmother. She had been told never, ever to stray of the path and the stories told about what would happen if she did scared her like hell, but her promise to her grandmother kept her going.
Soon she left the forest behind and ran into the city where she would be relatively safe, but that didn't slow her pace. Moments later she burst into the kitchen of her grandparents' house where she found her grandfather sitting at the kitchen table.
"What's wrong, réalta?" He asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Grandma's dead." The girl gasped, tears pouring down her cheeks. "He killed grandma!"
The girl picked something up from the ground and watched the group of teens, four of them her classmates, walk on. Then she eyed the thing in her hand, about to call out to them, but shook her head.
"No, I will not run anymore." She muttered to herself. "I'll stand up to my fears, grandma, just like I promised."
With that she turned in the opposite direction and disappeared between the rubble.
A/N: Hope you liked it. Please review. See… I'm updating quicker already.