Author's Note: Hi! So sorry I haven't been updating. School has been SO HECTIC the last couple of days, so updates would be a little bit slow. Sorry! Thanks so much for all the support though! Every single view makes me so happy!
Anyway! Here's Chapter 24! Enjoy!
Ella
"Five! Adam! Come look at this!" I call out, my eyes darting everywhere on the computer screen in front of me.
After we fled the battle, we went straight to South Carolina, away from all the Mogs and the mess. I miss Marina terribly. I hope to Pittacus she's okay.
We're in a little hotel room east of Columbia. We've already been here for five days, and we haven't heard a peep from the others. I've tried communicating with them through telepathy, but no such luck. So far, no Mogs have been lurking around the corners, which is a good sign. But we still have to reconnect with the others soon.
"What?" Five asks, peeking over my shoulder.
I point to the screen where a picture of two boys jumping down from a destroyed John Hancock Center is the headline.
Five gasps. It's Nine and Eight.
The article is calling them terrorists, like how they did with John back in Paradise. The two of them are now on FBI's most wanted list. Oh no! Now it's going to be even harder to track them down now that the FBI is also on their trail.
Adam walks in the room then, the book "1984" by George Orwell grasped by his hands. He's been reading a lot lately. He peeks over my shoulder too and shakes his head as he sees the news. I frown, too, as I scroll down some more.
"What are we going to do?" I ask.
They both shake their heads at the same time.
"I don't know." they reply simultaneously.
Six
We've been staying for a few days at the Goode's house, even though I've begged John and the others to go home. I'm sure they'd want us to be back.
I also refused to read the book without the other Garde members, much to John's chagrin. He wants to read it so badly already, desperate to find anything useful to beat Setrakus Ra. But we have to read it as a family.
I'm out in the backyard, doing some pushups and sit-ups, careful not to show my superhuman strength when Mrs. Goode is here. That's another reason I want to go home—to do some proper training. My muscles feel weak with only pushups and sit-ups to do all day.
Just then, a bird flies straight at me. It's a huge bird too, but I don't know what kind. I try to duck but I somehow can't. Come on, Six! You're going to be hit by a bird? You're better than that.
But instead of smacking me in the forehead, the bird flies straight through me.
Feeling utterly confused, I whip my head around. The first thing I notice is that I'm alone—good. We don't want Mrs. Goode to witness what just happened.
I exhale happily. A new Legacy! Just in time, too. Wait till the Mogs get a load of this.
I pick up a pot from Mrs. Goode's rose garden and try to practice with my new Legacy. It takes a lot of concentration—more than turning invisible requires, but after about two hours, I think I have it under control. I just need to develop it more and then I'm ready to kick the Mogs's ass with it.
I go inside the house then, the chicken cooking from the kitchen filling my senses. Well, I guess there is one thing I'll miss here: Mrs. Goode's cooking. And she doesn't mind my huge appetite either.
I knock on Sam's bedroom, ready to tell him the good news.
"Come in." I hear from inside. I turn the doorknob and immediately feel like I'm stepping inside an alien fanatic's lair. And maybe I am.
Posters of aliens, NASA spaceships, newspaper articles and photographic evidence of an 'alien invasion' cover the walls. Sam's sitting on his desk, in front of a computer.
"Hey Sam, I got a new Le—"I start but he shushes me and beckons me to see whatever it was on his screen.
Annoyed, I walk over and peek over his shoulder.
And there, right there, smack dab in the middle of the screen, is a picture of Nine and Eight jumping off the John Hancock Center.
"We have to leave!" I yell at Sam as I dash outside of his room and towards mine. I can't believe it! Now the Garde are being hunted by the US government! Again!
Frustrated, I slam my clothes in my backpack, as well as the book, and run outside the hall. I knock fiercely on John's room.
"John! We have to get out! John! Nine and Eight are in trouble!" I yell. I don't even care if Mrs. Goode can hear me. The Garde are in trouble. And it is my duty to Lorien to help them.
Eight
The only thing worse than being stuck in the middle of the road in a stolen RV while being hunted by the government is when you're doing all of that with Nine.
He's in the back seat, snoring, while I have to drive off the government's radar and find a decent place to stay in.
Both of us have no idea where we are right now, so we'll need a map. The problem is, there aren't any stores nearby. The whole place is deserted; no sign of civilization anywhere.
The last thing I remember from the fight with the Mogs was Marina being taken away. I know I should have saved her. I should have run after her. I should have stopped the Mogadorian from hoisting her on that truck. I should have at least tried to save her.
But I didn't.
And the only thing worse than failing the only person you've ever loved more than the entire universe itself, is knowing that that person is in the hands of the world's most dangerous criminals because of you.
Tears slowly fall down my face as I punch the steering wheel forcefully, sending out a loud honk. I'm glad there aren't any police officers or pedestrians to reprimand me. Or Nine telling me how weak I am, even though I know he misses her too.
Especially Five.
I don't know where the three of them are right now. I don't even know where John and the others are. All of us are separated—not a good sign. I just hope that we can at least find one of them. Just one hint that the other members of the Garde are okay.
Marina
The man guides me through a room filled with cylindrical glass cases. There were animals inside, their stomachs hooked by a tube to a machine next to the case. They seemed to be unconscious or possibly dead, floating in a pool of disgusting yellow liquid. Every single one of my senses is telling me to turn and run away. Or to at least try to fight. But it's no use. The whole room is chock full of Mogs. Scouts, guards, and scientists surround every corner, looking stiff and emotionless as they glance around the room.
Strangely, I feel controlled. My muscles move without my command, and my mouth opens and closes unconsciously. Only my thoughts seem to be in place. But I'm using every ounce of my energy left to keep it that way. I faintly remember thinking some very strange thoughts earlier today.
"This way, Marina." The man says, guiding me to a room. My body takes over and I nod, walking inside the room.
It has one of those glass cases in the very middle of the room, a metal chair beside it, and a table of very sharp instruments as well as about a dozen of multicolored vials.
My mind is racing and I want to get out of here. But whatever poison they injected me with was strong. There's no way out. My legs slowly walk towards the chair and I sit down. I try to struggle free, but I simply can't.
The man stands in front of me and makes a cut right in the middle of my throat. To my surprise, no blood pours out. Instead, my throat starts to turn into a yellowish color, like the liquid from those cases. He picks up a vial and pours it inside my throat and soon, my entire torso has become yellow. I look diseased. No, worse. I don't just look like an ordinary, diseased being.
The Mogs have turned me into a monster.
Suddenly, the little control I have over my thoughts vanish and I find myself standing up and walking towards the glass case, opening it, and stepping inside. The man attaches a tube to my stomach, closes the case, and presses some buttons on the machine. The case hums to life and blue liquid transfers from the machine to my system. I smile as the poison spreads itself around my body, enveloping my whole being in beautiful darkness.
The only thing I remember before blacking out was thinking, "For Mogadorian progress."