Chapter 5

"What are you waiting for?!? Go on; get out of here, before I change my mind!!"

"Know that I love you and that I will be back when I can," he replied. Quickly, he kissed her forehead, then turned to find one of the droids and get what he would need: food, his lightsaber, and a few other supplies, just in case. Soon, he had gotten it all together and was heading towards one of the smaller crafts.

"Hey! What do you think you are doing?!?" yelled a voice. Luke knew who it was without turning around.

"I do not have time to explain. So do not make me. There is something that I must do, and I will do it alone."

"Over my dead body! Get away from that craft right now and tell me what in the galaxy is going on in here!"

"You may ask my sister once I am gone, if you do not wish to wait for my return." 'If I do return,' he thought.

"Luke! What is so important that you are trying to sneak out of here in that thing? I want an answer right now!"

"Not now, Han! You can yell at me all you want when I get back," said Luke, as he finished with his preparations and climbed into the pilot seat. With a "Good-bye, Han. Tell everyone that I am fine and will be back just as soon as I can. Take care of Leia for me", he was gone.

'What am I going to do with that boy? He thinks he knows everything. He thinks he can just take off at a moment's notice, head off into unknown danger. One of these days, he's gonna get himself killed, and I won't be there to cover his rear because he just disappears without telling anyone where he's headed off to!' Unfortunately, Han did not know just how right he was. Luke had been known to just disappear, without warning, if it seemed to suit his purpose. 'Like the time that he surrendered himself to Vader. Leia was so worried about him…'

Han was unconsciously echoing the very same thoughts that another had recently been thinking…

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"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

'This cannot be happening!!! Not again!!' thought Lonny as he raced towards the village. The closer he got, the more afraid he was of the sight he feared would greet him. Yet he could not turn back now. It was as if some outside force was making him run, full speed, towards the obvious disaster. He could already see the smoke; soon he would feel the flames as well. He could hear voices crying out in pain, as they were burned alive. He found himself drawn towards the closest dwelling. He had grown up in the one a few spaces down, yet he had spent a great deal of his time here as well. As he approached, he thought that he could hear someone crying out, though the voice seemed to be somewhat weak from inhaling a lot of smoke. When he got to the entrance, he froze mid-step. He could not see anything inside, it was so full of smoke, and the flames were so high that they easily reached the roof. He turned around slowly, trying to make out if anyone was inside, and if there was anyone,whether the person had survived long enough for him to save their life. 'There! It's coming from under there!' he thought to himself. Apparently, someone had indeed been inside when it had been set on fire, and that person was now trapped underneath a fallen beam. Rushing forwards, he attempted to cover his mouth and nose so that he could breathe while he attempted the rescue. Drawing closer, he found an old friend of his. The figure looked to be barely alive. He scooped it up and dashed back outside.

"Lonny, find Maria," a weak voice stated.

"Where is she?" he demanded.

"I was trying to find her, when the attack came," was the response, as the form in his arms coughed and tried to catch his breath. "She had gone inside one of the houses, saying something about trying to save that old stick of hers."

Lonny paused, remembering which 'stick' his friend was referring to. It was an odd piece, to be sure, that Maria claimed she had found around the time her people had come across Lonny himself. He had been very young at the time and had not understood what it was, only that the family he had been living with, before they had been brutally murdered, had deemed it very important for him to have when he got old enough. He had known where it had been kept, but had been warned to not touch it until he reached a certain age. That age had not come soon enough for him to learn more about the strange looking 'stick' from them. At first, he had thought that it had been destroyed in the fire. Then Maria had found it and asked him about it. He had found it odd that it would have survived such a fire, when nothing else had remained intact. Hearing coughing and the flames, he was pulled out of his memories and back to the present.

"I have to try to find her," he said. "Will you be alright if I set you down in the center while I look?"

"I fear I will not survive this, either way," his old friend replied. "You are young, though. You may survive this, if you hurry."

'It is not your fate to die yet.' The words echoed in his head. Maybe his friend was right, maybe he would survive, though he was not sure if he would want to, if everyone around him did not. He laid his friend down, making him as comfortable as he could. "I will be back to check on you," he said, inwardly adding, 'to see if you still live.'

Both knew that the chances that Lonny's friend would survive were very slim, yet neither wanted to say it aloud, almost as if doing so would make it become a reality. "Go! Before it is too late for all of the others," his friend gasped, barely able to breathe now.

Lonny left.

!?!?!- AN: I sincerely apologize that it has taken me so long to get this chapter up... As a result, I think you deserve to receive extra chapters this week. Also, since school has started up again (as of almost two weeks ago), updates may not be as regular as intended, but I will do my best... For now, enjoy! -!?!?!