Chapter 7
"There's the Jetta!" Maria yelled as she spotted their car. Before Michael had even stopped the car, she and Tess were already out of it with Liz not too far behind them.
"Where is she?" Liz asked as she searched the empty car.
"Right here," a voice said from behind. Everyone quickly turned around to find Isabel in the arms of Khivar. He face was bloody and her clothes were ripped in various places. Her skin was covered with bruises and she was barely keeping her eyes open.
"What the hell did you do to her?" Alex asked, horrified by the sight of his beautiful friend.
"I just gave her a little makeover, she was being a little complicated," Khivar replied with a smirk.
"I'll kill you for this, you bastard," Maria said as she advanced toward Khivar.
"I'd stop right there, Rayana," Khivar said. "After all, you don't really have much of a chance against my army," he said as dozens and dozens of Skins appeared around them.
"Shit," Kyle muttered as he saw the Skins surround him.
"What the hell do we do now?" Alex asked quietly.
"Running sounds good," Kyle replied.
"We're not going anywhere without Isabel," Tess said as she stepped up beside Maria and glared at Khivar.
"You're not going anywhere, period," Khivar replied. "Get them!" he yelled. Before anyone had a chance to react, Skins were attacking the pod squad.
Maria immediately blasted two Skins that attacked her. She turned to her left and saw that Liz and Tess were doing fine with the Skins around them. Turning to her left, she saw that the guys were not doing as well. They were throwing a few punches, but they didn't seem like they were about to use their powers anytime soon.
"A little help here, please," Alex said as he tried to block the punches thrown his way by a Skin.
"Just try to hold him off for a few seconds," Maria yelled as she headed for Khivar.
"I'd stay back if I were you," Khivar said, backing away with Isabel still in his arms.
"Well you're not me," Maria replied as she continued to advance toward him. She raised her hand and prepared to throw an energy bolt at him. However, before she could aim it at him, Khivar threw Isabel at her, knocking them both to the ground.
"We'll meet again, Rayana," Khivar said as he diminished before her.
Maria rolled Isabel off of her and quickly went to work on trying to heal her. She immediately made a connection and within seconds, Isabel's eyes were fluttering open.
"What happened?" she asked groggily.
"Khivar captured and tortured you," Maria replied simply as though it were a normal occurrence.
"As long as it was nothing serious," Isabel replied sarcastically as she and Maria got up.
"Are you able to fight? We've got a few Skins to take care of," Maria said.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Isabel replied, already heading over to the Skins that had surrounds the boys.
Joining Alex, Isabel quickly got rid of the two Skins that were attacking him. Maria joined her and destroyed five Skins in less than a minute. Turning to Michael, she saw that he was having trouble with one of them.
"Blow him up!" she yelled.
"I don't know how to control my powers like that!" he yelled back. Maria let out an exasperated breath and raised her hand. Within a second, the Skin was nothing but ashes.
"How about helping us!" Kyle yelled as he and Max tried to protect themselves against five Skins.
Liz and Tess quickly made their way over to them. Liz kicked one of them in the back, quickly turning him to dust. Tess, meanwhile, used her powers to kill the three around her. Seeing that one of them was about to escape, Liz raised her hand and turned the female Skin into fire, burning her alive.
"Wow," Kyle said once every skin was dust.
"Tell me about it. Do you guys honestly go through this everyday?" Max asked.
"Yeah, but that's life," Tess said with a shrug. "Are you okay?" she asked turning to Isabel.
"Yeah I'm fine. Khivar tortured me so much that I barely remember what happened," Isabel replied.
"That's a good thing, right?" Alex asked.
"Yeah, I guess. But if I remembered, we might have known where Khivar took me, that way we could have investigated it," she replied.
"That doesn't matter - you do," Maria said. "We'll get Khivar eventually."
"We better," Tess replied. "That asshole is becoming a thorn in my side." Kyle and Alex laughed at Tess's comment.
"You girls are really advanced in your powers," Michael commented.
"Well we've been practicing them for years," Liz replied.
"If we were to get attacked again, the four of us would be almost completely useless to you girls," Michael said, referring to him and his brothers.
"That's understandable, considering that you barely use your powers for fighting," Isabel responded.
"No it's not," Michael said. "We're supposed to work as a team and instead, the four of you are fighting your asses off and blowing up everything in sight, while we barely defend ourselves against one Skin," he said, angry by his lack of experience in his powers.
"Relax, Michael. We'll help all of you with your powers as soon as you want to," Maria said.
"Good, let's start now," Michael said as he headed toward his jeep.
"Where the hell are you going?" Kyle asked as he and the others followed him.
"To the desert. We're going to start practicing our powers today. And while we're there, we'll show the girls the Granolith," he replied as he started the car and waited for everyone.
"You told them about the Granolith?"
"They know where the Granolith is?" Max and Isabel asked at the same time. They shared a small laugh before waiting for a reply.
"It's a long story," Maria replied. "Isabel, you and Alex can drive with Michael and I so we can fill you in and Kyle and Tess can ride with Max and Liz to fill them in," she said as she climbed into the passenger seat next to Michael. She and Michael looked at the window to see that nobody was moving.
"Now!" they yelled at the same time. Quickly, everyone piled into their assigned seats and headed toward the desert.
Twenty minutes later the arrived at the desert with everyone informed of the latest developments.
"Is it always this deserted?" Maria asked as surveyed the empty desert.
"It's a desert - what the hell do you expect Blondie?" Michael asked sarcastically.
"Who needs the lessons here?" Maria asked smugly. Michael stayed silent. "That's what I thought," she said.
"Whatever," Michael replied with a roll of his eyes.
"Love the vocabulary, Michael," Alex teased.
"Shut up," he replied.
"How about you both shut up so that we can see the Granolith," Isabel said in an annoyed voice.
"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," Kyle muttered quietly to himself.
"Actually, I woke up after being tortured to the point of unconsciousness," Isabel said while glaring at Kyle.
"Okay, let's go to the Granolith," Max said hastily trying to rescue his brother from Isabel's icy glare. He quickly started to climb the rocks, dragging Kyle with him.
"Where is it?" Maria asked.
"It's up there in that big boulder," Michael replied, pointing to the large rock.
"And you expect me to climb all the way up there?" she asked. Michael nodded his head. "Sorry not going to happen," she said shaking her head.
"Are you kidding me? You can fight four of five Skins at a time and talk almost anyone to death, but you can't climb a few rocks?" Michael asked in wonder.
"First of all, this is more than 'just a few rocks' - it's a freaking mountain. Secondly, I don't appreciate your chatterbox insults," she replied. "And thirdly, who the hell - hey!" she exclaimed as Michael lifted her into his arms and threw her over his shoulder.
"Put me down!" she exclaimed. Michael simply ignored her and continued to climb up the rocks, leaving the others to follow him.
"Damn you Michael! You'll pay for this!" she yelled as she started to pound his back with her fists.
"I'm trembling with fear," Michael said sarcastically.
"You should be," Maria replied.
"Should he?" Max asked Liz from behind Michael and Maria.
"Yeah. Maria hates when guys think they can overpower or take control of her," Liz replied. "She'll definitely get Michael back for carrying her like some piece of meat."
"I sure as hell wouldn't want to be him right now," he replied with a laugh.
When they reached the top of the rocks, Michael set Maria down on her feet. Before he could even react, Maria had raised her hands up and punched Michael square in the jaw.
"OW!" Michael exclaimed. "What the hell was that for!?!" he yelled angrily.
"That was for thinking you could just haul me over your shoulder like some piece of garbage," Maria responded, just as angry.
"I got you up here didn't I?" he asked as he rubbed his jaw.
"That's not the point," Maria replied.
"No the point is that you may have broken my jaw," he said angrily.
"You'll survive," Maria said dismissively as she turned to the huge boulder in front of her.
"Come here, Michael," Max said as he advanced toward Michael to heal his jaw. He quickly made a connection and fixed the jaw.
"See, all better," Maria said with a smirk.
"You are one of the most infuriating girls I have ever met," he said getting in her face.
"Well you aren't exactly Prince Charming yourself," Maria replied, staring Michael in the eyes.
"Children please!" Isabel exclaimed. "Can you two please save your weird form of flirting for another time? We have more important things to worry about right now," she said. Alex, Kyle, and Max snickered at the embarrassed look that came across Michael's face when Isabel mentioned flirting. Liz and Tess soon joined in when they saw Maria's face turn red. Even Isabel couldn't resist laughing at the expressions on their faces. Pretty soon, all six of them were laughing at the uncomfortable looks on Michael and Maria's faces.
"Would you guys shut up," Michael said.
"Yeah, it wasn't that funny," Maria added, still embarrassed.
"They're right," Tess said, a few second later, being the first to calm down. Within a minute or two, everyone had finally stopped laughing.
"Are you idiots done now?" Maria asked.
"Aww, you know we love you Ria," Isabel said with a smile.
"Whatever," she replied. "Anyway, how do we get in this thing? Is there like a secret button to press?" she asked Michael as she began to touch the boulder.
"Well actually," Kyle started only to cut himself off when he saw a silver handprint appear under Maria's hand and the boulder split open to allow them in the cave.
"How did you do that?" he asked in surprise.
"Do what?" Maria asked.
"Open the rock," Alex cut in. "Nobody besides Michael had been able to open it."
"I don't know. I was just looking for a button and I just waved my hand all over the rock and next thing I know, the rock opens," Maria responded.
"Alex, Max, and I have been trying to open this thing since for as long as we can remember, and we've been unsuccessful. How the hell did you do it?" Kyle asked.
"I don't know. Maybe it's because my powers are more advanced than yours," she suggested.
"That's probably it," Tess said. "Since my powers are almost as powerful as Maria's, maybe I can open it too," she said as she walked in front of the boulder that had just closed. She raised her hand and waited, but nothing happened.
"Why didn't it work?" she asked herself.
"I don't know. Let me try," Isabel said. She waved her hand over the rock and also got no reaction. Liz also tried and received the same results.
"So only Michael and Maria have the power to open it," Max stated. "What do you think that means?" he asked.
"I don't know, but I'm sure you'll figure it out Sherlock," Michael said sarcastically as he noticed Max already trying to come up with logical explanations. He waved his hand over the boulder and walked in, with everyone trailing behind him.
"So this is where you were hatched?" Liz asked as she observed the cave.
"Yeah, our pods are right there," Max replied pointing to the pods.
"It's a lot nicer than the crappy cave that we were hatched in," Tess said.
"Tell me about it," Isabel agreed.
"So where's the Granolith?" Maria asked.
"Back here," Michael said as he started to climb through one of the pods. Maria climbed in after him followed by Alex, Isabel, Liz, Max, Tess, and Kyle.
"Wow," Maria gasped as she observed the huge statue in front of her.
"It's amazing," Liz said in awe.
"Yeah, it'd be better if we knew what to do with it," Kyle said.
"I bet it would," Maria said as she touched the Granolith.
"Every time I touch it, I just get a strong feeling that I can't explain, but a part of me knows that it's supposed to mean something to me," Michael said as he walked around the Granolith. When he came to Maria's side, he placed his hand next to hers on the Granolith. Instantly, a connection was formed.
*Flashback*
"Rath, I'm worried," a young girl, who looked exactly like Maria, said.
"Rayana, we're going to be fine," Rath, who looked a lot like Michael, replied.
"You can't guarantee that. Khivar is getting angrier and he has killed over fifteen civilians in just the past two days!" Rayana exclaimed.
"I'm aware of that Rai," Rath replied.
"Well, what are we going to do? Khivar won't stop until her gets the Granolith in his possession."
"We're going to fight to our dying breath. If Khivar gets his hand on the Granolith, not only will it kill our planet and us, it will destroy every other planet in the world. We can't and won't let that happen," Rath replied.
"I don't want to lose you, or our family and friends," Rayana said.
"Neither do I, but some things are worth dying for. And the Granolith is one of them," Rath said.
"You're right," Rayana said, ending the conversation as she reached up to kiss Rath.
They were in a war and that meant living through casualties and pain. There were no questions of who lived or died. No questions of who would runaway or who would stay and fight. The Granolith was on the line and its protection came before anyone else's.
*End Flashback*
Michael and Maria quickly pulled back from the Granolith after their shared flashback.
"What the hell happened to you guys? We've been calling you for almost five minutes," Tess said, worried about them.
"We had a flashback," Maria said, still dazed from what she had experienced.
"Really? What did you see?" Isabel asked.
"Michael and I, in our past lives. We were talking about the Granolith," Maria responded.
"What did you find out about it?" Alex asked.
"We have to protect it," Michael said.
"We already knew that," Kyle asked.
"No, we really have to protect, as in with out lives. If Khivar gets it, he could seriously destroy not only Antar, but Earth and any other planets that exist," Michael said seriously.
"So one man alone could destroy the world if this thing gets in his possession?" Max asked.
"Basically. I'm not sure what it does, but I know that in the flashback, I had this strong feeling for it, as though I would give my life for it," Maria replied.
"If we didn't know what we were fighting for then, we sure as hell do now," Michael said. "From this moment on, nothing and no one comes before the Granolith in a time of crisis," he said in a serious tone.
"Tess, Liz, Isabel, you know I love you guys with everything inside of me, and Kyle, Max, Alex, you guys have become good friends to me. And I'm sure Michael feels the same way. But if for any chance you were in a position where you had to choose between saving your life or the saving the Granolith, you don't hesitate to choose the Granolith. Okay?" she asked as she looked at everyone spread around the Granolith.
Everyone looked at Michael and Maria and could see how serious they were. What bothered them the most was behind their seriousness, you could almost detect a level of fear in them. Whatever it was that they were getting into, it was becoming obvious that their lives would never be the same after it. They were about to enter a war with Khivar and they weren't going to stop until either he or they were dead.
TBC..
Please leave feedback!!!!!
"There's the Jetta!" Maria yelled as she spotted their car. Before Michael had even stopped the car, she and Tess were already out of it with Liz not too far behind them.
"Where is she?" Liz asked as she searched the empty car.
"Right here," a voice said from behind. Everyone quickly turned around to find Isabel in the arms of Khivar. He face was bloody and her clothes were ripped in various places. Her skin was covered with bruises and she was barely keeping her eyes open.
"What the hell did you do to her?" Alex asked, horrified by the sight of his beautiful friend.
"I just gave her a little makeover, she was being a little complicated," Khivar replied with a smirk.
"I'll kill you for this, you bastard," Maria said as she advanced toward Khivar.
"I'd stop right there, Rayana," Khivar said. "After all, you don't really have much of a chance against my army," he said as dozens and dozens of Skins appeared around them.
"Shit," Kyle muttered as he saw the Skins surround him.
"What the hell do we do now?" Alex asked quietly.
"Running sounds good," Kyle replied.
"We're not going anywhere without Isabel," Tess said as she stepped up beside Maria and glared at Khivar.
"You're not going anywhere, period," Khivar replied. "Get them!" he yelled. Before anyone had a chance to react, Skins were attacking the pod squad.
Maria immediately blasted two Skins that attacked her. She turned to her left and saw that Liz and Tess were doing fine with the Skins around them. Turning to her left, she saw that the guys were not doing as well. They were throwing a few punches, but they didn't seem like they were about to use their powers anytime soon.
"A little help here, please," Alex said as he tried to block the punches thrown his way by a Skin.
"Just try to hold him off for a few seconds," Maria yelled as she headed for Khivar.
"I'd stay back if I were you," Khivar said, backing away with Isabel still in his arms.
"Well you're not me," Maria replied as she continued to advance toward him. She raised her hand and prepared to throw an energy bolt at him. However, before she could aim it at him, Khivar threw Isabel at her, knocking them both to the ground.
"We'll meet again, Rayana," Khivar said as he diminished before her.
Maria rolled Isabel off of her and quickly went to work on trying to heal her. She immediately made a connection and within seconds, Isabel's eyes were fluttering open.
"What happened?" she asked groggily.
"Khivar captured and tortured you," Maria replied simply as though it were a normal occurrence.
"As long as it was nothing serious," Isabel replied sarcastically as she and Maria got up.
"Are you able to fight? We've got a few Skins to take care of," Maria said.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Isabel replied, already heading over to the Skins that had surrounds the boys.
Joining Alex, Isabel quickly got rid of the two Skins that were attacking him. Maria joined her and destroyed five Skins in less than a minute. Turning to Michael, she saw that he was having trouble with one of them.
"Blow him up!" she yelled.
"I don't know how to control my powers like that!" he yelled back. Maria let out an exasperated breath and raised her hand. Within a second, the Skin was nothing but ashes.
"How about helping us!" Kyle yelled as he and Max tried to protect themselves against five Skins.
Liz and Tess quickly made their way over to them. Liz kicked one of them in the back, quickly turning him to dust. Tess, meanwhile, used her powers to kill the three around her. Seeing that one of them was about to escape, Liz raised her hand and turned the female Skin into fire, burning her alive.
"Wow," Kyle said once every skin was dust.
"Tell me about it. Do you guys honestly go through this everyday?" Max asked.
"Yeah, but that's life," Tess said with a shrug. "Are you okay?" she asked turning to Isabel.
"Yeah I'm fine. Khivar tortured me so much that I barely remember what happened," Isabel replied.
"That's a good thing, right?" Alex asked.
"Yeah, I guess. But if I remembered, we might have known where Khivar took me, that way we could have investigated it," she replied.
"That doesn't matter - you do," Maria said. "We'll get Khivar eventually."
"We better," Tess replied. "That asshole is becoming a thorn in my side." Kyle and Alex laughed at Tess's comment.
"You girls are really advanced in your powers," Michael commented.
"Well we've been practicing them for years," Liz replied.
"If we were to get attacked again, the four of us would be almost completely useless to you girls," Michael said, referring to him and his brothers.
"That's understandable, considering that you barely use your powers for fighting," Isabel responded.
"No it's not," Michael said. "We're supposed to work as a team and instead, the four of you are fighting your asses off and blowing up everything in sight, while we barely defend ourselves against one Skin," he said, angry by his lack of experience in his powers.
"Relax, Michael. We'll help all of you with your powers as soon as you want to," Maria said.
"Good, let's start now," Michael said as he headed toward his jeep.
"Where the hell are you going?" Kyle asked as he and the others followed him.
"To the desert. We're going to start practicing our powers today. And while we're there, we'll show the girls the Granolith," he replied as he started the car and waited for everyone.
"You told them about the Granolith?"
"They know where the Granolith is?" Max and Isabel asked at the same time. They shared a small laugh before waiting for a reply.
"It's a long story," Maria replied. "Isabel, you and Alex can drive with Michael and I so we can fill you in and Kyle and Tess can ride with Max and Liz to fill them in," she said as she climbed into the passenger seat next to Michael. She and Michael looked at the window to see that nobody was moving.
"Now!" they yelled at the same time. Quickly, everyone piled into their assigned seats and headed toward the desert.
Twenty minutes later the arrived at the desert with everyone informed of the latest developments.
"Is it always this deserted?" Maria asked as surveyed the empty desert.
"It's a desert - what the hell do you expect Blondie?" Michael asked sarcastically.
"Who needs the lessons here?" Maria asked smugly. Michael stayed silent. "That's what I thought," she said.
"Whatever," Michael replied with a roll of his eyes.
"Love the vocabulary, Michael," Alex teased.
"Shut up," he replied.
"How about you both shut up so that we can see the Granolith," Isabel said in an annoyed voice.
"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," Kyle muttered quietly to himself.
"Actually, I woke up after being tortured to the point of unconsciousness," Isabel said while glaring at Kyle.
"Okay, let's go to the Granolith," Max said hastily trying to rescue his brother from Isabel's icy glare. He quickly started to climb the rocks, dragging Kyle with him.
"Where is it?" Maria asked.
"It's up there in that big boulder," Michael replied, pointing to the large rock.
"And you expect me to climb all the way up there?" she asked. Michael nodded his head. "Sorry not going to happen," she said shaking her head.
"Are you kidding me? You can fight four of five Skins at a time and talk almost anyone to death, but you can't climb a few rocks?" Michael asked in wonder.
"First of all, this is more than 'just a few rocks' - it's a freaking mountain. Secondly, I don't appreciate your chatterbox insults," she replied. "And thirdly, who the hell - hey!" she exclaimed as Michael lifted her into his arms and threw her over his shoulder.
"Put me down!" she exclaimed. Michael simply ignored her and continued to climb up the rocks, leaving the others to follow him.
"Damn you Michael! You'll pay for this!" she yelled as she started to pound his back with her fists.
"I'm trembling with fear," Michael said sarcastically.
"You should be," Maria replied.
"Should he?" Max asked Liz from behind Michael and Maria.
"Yeah. Maria hates when guys think they can overpower or take control of her," Liz replied. "She'll definitely get Michael back for carrying her like some piece of meat."
"I sure as hell wouldn't want to be him right now," he replied with a laugh.
When they reached the top of the rocks, Michael set Maria down on her feet. Before he could even react, Maria had raised her hands up and punched Michael square in the jaw.
"OW!" Michael exclaimed. "What the hell was that for!?!" he yelled angrily.
"That was for thinking you could just haul me over your shoulder like some piece of garbage," Maria responded, just as angry.
"I got you up here didn't I?" he asked as he rubbed his jaw.
"That's not the point," Maria replied.
"No the point is that you may have broken my jaw," he said angrily.
"You'll survive," Maria said dismissively as she turned to the huge boulder in front of her.
"Come here, Michael," Max said as he advanced toward Michael to heal his jaw. He quickly made a connection and fixed the jaw.
"See, all better," Maria said with a smirk.
"You are one of the most infuriating girls I have ever met," he said getting in her face.
"Well you aren't exactly Prince Charming yourself," Maria replied, staring Michael in the eyes.
"Children please!" Isabel exclaimed. "Can you two please save your weird form of flirting for another time? We have more important things to worry about right now," she said. Alex, Kyle, and Max snickered at the embarrassed look that came across Michael's face when Isabel mentioned flirting. Liz and Tess soon joined in when they saw Maria's face turn red. Even Isabel couldn't resist laughing at the expressions on their faces. Pretty soon, all six of them were laughing at the uncomfortable looks on Michael and Maria's faces.
"Would you guys shut up," Michael said.
"Yeah, it wasn't that funny," Maria added, still embarrassed.
"They're right," Tess said, a few second later, being the first to calm down. Within a minute or two, everyone had finally stopped laughing.
"Are you idiots done now?" Maria asked.
"Aww, you know we love you Ria," Isabel said with a smile.
"Whatever," she replied. "Anyway, how do we get in this thing? Is there like a secret button to press?" she asked Michael as she began to touch the boulder.
"Well actually," Kyle started only to cut himself off when he saw a silver handprint appear under Maria's hand and the boulder split open to allow them in the cave.
"How did you do that?" he asked in surprise.
"Do what?" Maria asked.
"Open the rock," Alex cut in. "Nobody besides Michael had been able to open it."
"I don't know. I was just looking for a button and I just waved my hand all over the rock and next thing I know, the rock opens," Maria responded.
"Alex, Max, and I have been trying to open this thing since for as long as we can remember, and we've been unsuccessful. How the hell did you do it?" Kyle asked.
"I don't know. Maybe it's because my powers are more advanced than yours," she suggested.
"That's probably it," Tess said. "Since my powers are almost as powerful as Maria's, maybe I can open it too," she said as she walked in front of the boulder that had just closed. She raised her hand and waited, but nothing happened.
"Why didn't it work?" she asked herself.
"I don't know. Let me try," Isabel said. She waved her hand over the rock and also got no reaction. Liz also tried and received the same results.
"So only Michael and Maria have the power to open it," Max stated. "What do you think that means?" he asked.
"I don't know, but I'm sure you'll figure it out Sherlock," Michael said sarcastically as he noticed Max already trying to come up with logical explanations. He waved his hand over the boulder and walked in, with everyone trailing behind him.
"So this is where you were hatched?" Liz asked as she observed the cave.
"Yeah, our pods are right there," Max replied pointing to the pods.
"It's a lot nicer than the crappy cave that we were hatched in," Tess said.
"Tell me about it," Isabel agreed.
"So where's the Granolith?" Maria asked.
"Back here," Michael said as he started to climb through one of the pods. Maria climbed in after him followed by Alex, Isabel, Liz, Max, Tess, and Kyle.
"Wow," Maria gasped as she observed the huge statue in front of her.
"It's amazing," Liz said in awe.
"Yeah, it'd be better if we knew what to do with it," Kyle said.
"I bet it would," Maria said as she touched the Granolith.
"Every time I touch it, I just get a strong feeling that I can't explain, but a part of me knows that it's supposed to mean something to me," Michael said as he walked around the Granolith. When he came to Maria's side, he placed his hand next to hers on the Granolith. Instantly, a connection was formed.
*Flashback*
"Rath, I'm worried," a young girl, who looked exactly like Maria, said.
"Rayana, we're going to be fine," Rath, who looked a lot like Michael, replied.
"You can't guarantee that. Khivar is getting angrier and he has killed over fifteen civilians in just the past two days!" Rayana exclaimed.
"I'm aware of that Rai," Rath replied.
"Well, what are we going to do? Khivar won't stop until her gets the Granolith in his possession."
"We're going to fight to our dying breath. If Khivar gets his hand on the Granolith, not only will it kill our planet and us, it will destroy every other planet in the world. We can't and won't let that happen," Rath replied.
"I don't want to lose you, or our family and friends," Rayana said.
"Neither do I, but some things are worth dying for. And the Granolith is one of them," Rath said.
"You're right," Rayana said, ending the conversation as she reached up to kiss Rath.
They were in a war and that meant living through casualties and pain. There were no questions of who lived or died. No questions of who would runaway or who would stay and fight. The Granolith was on the line and its protection came before anyone else's.
*End Flashback*
Michael and Maria quickly pulled back from the Granolith after their shared flashback.
"What the hell happened to you guys? We've been calling you for almost five minutes," Tess said, worried about them.
"We had a flashback," Maria said, still dazed from what she had experienced.
"Really? What did you see?" Isabel asked.
"Michael and I, in our past lives. We were talking about the Granolith," Maria responded.
"What did you find out about it?" Alex asked.
"We have to protect it," Michael said.
"We already knew that," Kyle asked.
"No, we really have to protect, as in with out lives. If Khivar gets it, he could seriously destroy not only Antar, but Earth and any other planets that exist," Michael said seriously.
"So one man alone could destroy the world if this thing gets in his possession?" Max asked.
"Basically. I'm not sure what it does, but I know that in the flashback, I had this strong feeling for it, as though I would give my life for it," Maria replied.
"If we didn't know what we were fighting for then, we sure as hell do now," Michael said. "From this moment on, nothing and no one comes before the Granolith in a time of crisis," he said in a serious tone.
"Tess, Liz, Isabel, you know I love you guys with everything inside of me, and Kyle, Max, Alex, you guys have become good friends to me. And I'm sure Michael feels the same way. But if for any chance you were in a position where you had to choose between saving your life or the saving the Granolith, you don't hesitate to choose the Granolith. Okay?" she asked as she looked at everyone spread around the Granolith.
Everyone looked at Michael and Maria and could see how serious they were. What bothered them the most was behind their seriousness, you could almost detect a level of fear in them. Whatever it was that they were getting into, it was becoming obvious that their lives would never be the same after it. They were about to enter a war with Khivar and they weren't going to stop until either he or they were dead.
TBC..
Please leave feedback!!!!!