Hey, Readers!

Here's Part Two of the Survival storyline. Sam learns something interesting about his fellow Rookie that changes everything he ever thought about her. Meanwhile, someone is plotting for his downfall... Kinda short, but wraps up the arc nicely.

Enjoy the chapter!

-aggiefrogger

Survival: Part Two

Sam POV:

"This can't be good," Sam muttered to himself, looking at the frosted-over wasteland that spread out around them. At least the frost wasn't coming up the side of the rock, but it was still freezing; a chilling wind blew across the plain, causing him to shiver.

"Great," he heard Elantra grumble behind him. "Out of all the Rookies to be stuck with I'm stuck with you!"

That comment, combined with the pressing thought of their possible death, caused the teen to whirl around angrily, even though he knew better that to egg her on. "What's your deal? I know you don't like me, or my species, whichever it is, but you don't have to act like a dick all the time! The rest of us have tried everything we could think of to reach out to you and be your friend, but you act like you're so much better than us!"

The bright yellow alien probably didn't know what a dick was, but she could tell that he was calling her out on her behavior. Her eyes narrowed as she glared at him. "It is none of your concern why I act how I act. If I were you, I'd be focusing on being a better Lantern!"

"I'm already doing that! And I'm helping the others do the same, even though you haven't bothered to come train with us, even after pretending to care all about teamwork a few weeks ago during capture the flag!"

"Again, I don't need to explain my actions to you."

Sam couldn't help but throw his hands up in the air in exasperation; he didn't know what else he could do, and he resigned himself to the fact that some people (or aliens) were unable of being friendly. "Let's just focus on how to get out of here; maybe we could light a fire-"

"The wind would blow it out," she said bluntly.

"Well we need to get their attention somehow! What would yo-"

"They'll come for us, and we'll either last long enough until then, or not. And I better not get in trouble because of you when Kilowog gets here!"

"Uh, I'm not the one who got attacked by those rat things! I was trying to help you, and I probably saved your life, too!"

"I didn't ask you too!"

"Whatever," he muttered, going towards his end of the boulders, looking up at the sky for any sign of the others. "If I had my ring I'd-"

Suddenly, his legs were swept out from underneath him, and he landed on his back hard. Before he could get up, Elantra was standing over him, and pressed her foot down on his throat, cutting off his airflow.

"It is NOT. YOUR. RING," she spat, her face full of rage, and something else; Regret? Sadness? "Let's get that fact straight! It was NEVER your ring! That ring will always be Swet'llanga's!"

The teen blinked in surprise, trying to pry her foot away so he could breathe again. "How-How do you-"

"She was my SISTER," the alien yelled, her voice ringing through the air; the boy paused in his efforts to get away, staring up at her in shock. "She died protecting me and our home world; she DIED in my arms! I was never a strong-willed individual before, but in that moment, I became worthy of a ring; I would make her proud, and let her memory live on. But did I get her ring? NO! It flies off to YOU, a member of the most self-absorbed species in the universe, and I end up with another's ring instead of HERS!"

She finally pulled her foot back, and Sam turned to his side, coughing and massaging his sore neck, his mind reeling as he processed his information. Sweg'llanga… the Lantern who wielded the ring before him… was Elantra's sister. Her SISTER. He never knew anything about who his predecessor was, and he had never bothered to ask. And to have been there when she died… no wonder Elantra acted the way she did towards him; if she was chosen right after her death, then she didn't have a moment to grieve. It also explained why she fought so hard; if Sweg'llanga was as impressive as everyone said she was, then his fellow Rookie had some large shoes to fill.

Looking over, he saw that the yellow alien had stalked back to her side of the boulders, hugging her legs and staring out at the cold landscape around them, her back to him. He couldn't tell if she was crying or not, but her shaking was probably due to the chill of the wind. Slowly sitting up, he awkwardly looked at her, wondering if he should say something; what do you say to the sibling of the alien who wielded the Green Lantern ring before you without sounding insensitive, especially when she doesn't like you? However, Elantra solved that problem for him.

"She was a great Lantern," the alien spoke up, still not looking at him. "The pride of our family and homeland, since she was the first of our kind to be chosen. When she died, and I was chosen… that burden fell onto my shoulders." She looked back towards him, her face unreadable. "You disrespect her memory by wearing that ring."

"I'm not trying to," Sam replied, hoping he wasn't being disrespectful, but also determined to redeem his character, for some reason. "I'm just trying to get through each day without suffering any major injuries! And as for Sweg-" Elantra glared at him at the mention of her sister's name, and he backed off. "I… I had no idea she was related to you; all anyone ever told me was that she was a great Lantern, just like you said. If it was so important to you, why didn't you say anything earlier? We could've switched ri-"

"The rings choose who their new wielder is, not us; we couldn't have done anything about it." They both lapsed into silence after that, but Sam felt that he should say something more, rubbing his arms to keep warm.

"I… I'm sorry, by the way. For your loss; I can't even imagine what that must've been like for you."

She made a scoffing noise. "Don't pretend that you care."

He gave a small huff of exasperation; was she incapable of accepting anything kind or positive? "Of course I care! We're both Rookies, and whether you train with us or not, you're still one of us. And don't think that I don't know what you're going through; I've lost someone close to me before, and everyday I try to do better, for their sake. I also know that distancing yourself from others and acting like an angsty teen isn't going to make her feel any better. You can take my condolences and apologies if you want, but I'm not going to force you to. I may not have known Sweg'llanga, but if she was a good Lantern, as you say, then she'd probably be disappointed in your behavior right now."

Elantra turned back to him, and he quickly braced himself for another attack that never came. Instead, she burst into tears, giving a chocked sob that sounded like a dying animal. As shocking as it was, her tears were red, like blood, and it took all of Sam's willpower to not give a horrified scream. She quickly covered her face, turning away as she continued to sob, her shoulders shaking.

For the first time since they started talking, the boy became aware of the cold once again; it was like being outside in the winter, and he shivered, hugging his arms as he watched her cry, feeling a mixture of embarrassment, pity, and fear. Seeing the usually sullen alien so… so… vulnerable, made him feel uncomfortable, like seeing an adult cry. Watching her, however, he realized he never knew how old she was; he was judging her actions as if she were an adult, but looking at her now… she seemed like a scared little kid.

"I am a kid," she sputtered, still sniffing. "And yes, I can read minds."

"GAH-" Sam was so startled by this out-of-nowhere revelation that he hadn't noticed how far the frost had spread up the side of the rock until it was too late. His foot slipped on a patch near his foot, and he fell off the boulder, landing on the ground.

His left leg absorbed most of the impact, and he heard a loud crack, followed by unbearable pain. However, he couldn't focus on that as he stared in horror as the frost from the ground started to cover his hands. He screamed, trying to scramble to his feet, but he slipped and fell again, now staring at the sky. Looking up, he thought he heard Elantra scream something, and he could have sworn he saw a green flash of light before the ice covered his eyes, his body succumbing to the cold.

..

When Sam woke up, the first thing he was aware of was warmth; not regular warmth, but an abundance of warmth, so unlike the cold weather of the moon. The next thing he was aware of was a humming noise. Confused, wondering if he was now in Heaven, and he opened his eyes.

He appeared to be in a hospital of sort, but giving the architecture of the room, it was on Oa; it looked like he'd been rescued after all. Looking to his left, he saw a window overlooking one of the main squares of the planet, and saw Green Lanterns going about their day. He shifted his hand, and felt the ring on his finger once again; a touch to the band around his head confirmed this.

"Look who's up."

He couldn't help but groan as he turned to the other side, seeing Kilowog rising from a nearby chair, towering over him. "Hello, Sir. Forgive me for not saluting; I think I still need to thaw out."

The drill sergeant actually chuckled a little at that, crossing his arms. "Glad to see your tongue was spared."

"It'll take more than a little frost to silence me."

The alien gave a snort of laughter at that, and for a second, Sam wondered if the training officer actually was being kind to him. That thought was quickly refuted when the large alien scowled at him, now looking serious. "Well, ya failed the test, to start, but so did Elantra. There's always at least one Rookie that fails it, but I wasn't expectin' you to be one of them."

"Sorry to disappoint," Sam muttered, shifting his body a little. He froze, then did it again. Yes, he wasn't imagining it; his leg was no longer broken.

"Luck we got to ya in time; any longer, and you would've lost it to frostbite."

"Always an optimist, Sir?"

The Bolovaxian grinned, which didn't do anything to reassure the teen's nerves. "Just be glad you're still here, and that the Guardians insisted that you stay, despite my objections."

"Why do you hate me," the boy asked. "Just curious. Is it because of my comment on day one? If so I'm sorry that I-"

"I'm not that petty," the trainer interrupted, walking towards the door. "And as to why I dislike you… I don't. You humans always think that you're the center of the universe." The teen glared at him, and received another smile; both knew that the pink alien was lying. "You'll be back at trainin' tomorrow morning, regular time, and know that you'll have extra laps around Oa for failin' the mission. Also, you have visitors." The door slid open, and he walked into the hallway, and immediately, the Rookies came into the room, swarming towards his bedside; all were back in their uniforms, and their rings glowed on their fingers.

"You're alive," Pzanar said, floating in the air so he could see Sam. "We thought you were dead for sure!"

"Thanks, man," the boy muttered, though he knew the alien meant well.

"We thought you'd be the one to make it to the rendezvous first," Yanxa spoke up.

"Yeah," Yanx added. "We all made it right before the sun set, and when you and Elantra didn't show up, Kilowog turned the objective into a Search-and-Rescue mission."

"Are your injuries healed," Uhjan asked. "The last time we saw you, you were covered in ice, and your leg appeared to be at an abnormal angle."

"I'm fine," the human assured them all. "No more broken bones, and I'm good to go for training tomorrow; are we still meeting after lunch for some exercises?"

The purple-spiked alien grinned. "You know us!"

"We can even start now, if you guys want," Sam added, swinging his legs off the bed, relieved that his legs didn't cave underneath him.

"Can I come too," a voice spoke up.

The Rookies turned around to find Elantra standing in the doorway, wearing her uniform as well. She seemed hesitant to step into the room, and refused to look anyone in the eye. A brief memory of her crying flashed in the human's mind, and the ring on his finger suddenly seemed heavier.

"I… I was just wondering if I could," She gave a small sigh. "If I could join you all with your extra training."

The other Rookies were in shock, to say the least, at the sudden change in her demeanor, and all immediately turned to Sam, since he was the unofficial leader of the group. He looked at the bright yellow alien, but not in the same way as before; despite her looks, she was still a kid, probably around his age, and she could read minds. That would explain why she rarely got in trouble with Kilowog during training, and why she was always able to find an opponent's weaknesses during sparing sessions.

"I see no reason why not," he finally said, giving her a small smile. "We're a family, and we should stick together."

She looked up a little at that, and gave him a small smile, but he could tell she was worried about something else.

I won't tell, he thought, and was relieved when she gave another small nod; it would be there secret, and he hoped that it wouldn't backfire on him.

"Okay everyone," he said out loud, turning towards the others, "let's go!"

Elantra POV:

Good, he fell for it.

The whole fake sister thing was good, but pretending to be younger than she really was seemed a little over the top and unbelievable, and Elantra was annoyed at having to cry in front of him to get his mental guards down, but it worked; she was fortunate that he didn't know anything more about his ring's predecessor, or suspected that she was still an adult. Now, with access to the secrets of his mind, she would soon be able to discover the best way to take him down. Training was like survival; if you weren't strong, you lose.

For her, some species were easier to read than others, their minds like an open book. But for some reason, those stupid, self-centered humans had particularly strong minds, and Sam's was no exception. Now, however, she was in, and it was only a matter of time before she took him down. She could already tell that he hated Kilowog, and that the training officer hated him back. All she needed was for one of them to tip the scale, for one of them to go too far, and the rest would take care of himself. Sam would be gone (or dead; she didn't care), and she would be the top Lantern in their group.

However, she still had time. So, smiling as the pathetic human said something to her, she carried on her charade, patiently biding her time before she would strike…

Yep! Elantra's pretty tricky, isn't she? When that "tipping point" comes, you know some serious stuff's gonna go down!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Sorry if it seems kind of rushed, but now you know the whole survival bit was about Elantra, not the training exercise. She's pretty competitive, but that may lead to her downfall. Who knows? Well, I do, but you'll find out soon enough.

Make sure to favorite and follow to keep yourselves updated and current on new chapters and stories, and feel free to drop a review with your comments/thoughts on the chapter and overall story so far! Hope you all have a great day!

-aggiefrogger