DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE LORIEN LEGACIES SERIES, NOR ANY CHARACTERS OR EVENTS WHICH MAY OCCUR. THESE BELONG TO THE AUTHORS UNDER THE PSEUDONYM OF PITTACUS LORE.
As soon as I hear the gunshots my natural instinct kicks in and I roll away from the bullets, out of their path similar to the way that we practised in the Capture the Flag match back in the John Hancock Center. The same can't be said for my parents, however. I let out a high-pitched gasp as the bullet trails arrow towards my parents, who were deep in conversation when the guns were fired. Just as my parents' deaths become imminent, the bullets stop in mid-air, hover for a split-second and then fall to the ground harmlessly. As my Mum scurries inside the house and protects herself behind the couch, followed by my Dad, I turn to see John staring back at me through the car window.
I grab the pistol stashed in the holster around my waist and open fire towards the woods, dimly lit by the porch lighting at the front of my house. Apart from those low-energy light bulbs, nothing else illuminates the midnight battle which ensues in front of me. I see John open the car door hurriedly and turn to the Mogs who are in the middle of reloading. He uses his telekinesis to wrench the guns away from two of the soldiers, who are in turn hit by a few of my bullets and disintegrate into piles of ash, but the third is quick enough to get a few shots off at me. As John pushes him aside a bullet smashes straight through the porch light and I'm engulfed by darkness.
I squint my eyes to try to make out the outlines of the approaching soldier, but the only thing that I can see is a slight reflection off of the car, and as I attempt to look inside it I realise that John's disappeared through the darkness. I can't see my only possible aid from this approaching alien and therefore I fear the worst. I hear a crunch of gravel from his footsteps smashing down upon my driveway but then hear something that frightens me at first, but relieves me soon after: John's voice.
He snarls at the soldier from behind, "you're done for now, boy!" and his Lumen lights up the sky before sending a fireball straight through the back of the Mog, leaving a pile of ash where he stood.
He uses his Lumen to shine the path back to the car, and I see another Mog-like figure standing by it. My first thought is to get to Sarah and cover her, when recent events return to mind and John's lighting confirms that it's just Adam who has exited the car; he must've been protecting Sarah and the chests which were lodged in the back seats.
"We better get her inside," he shouts from the opposite side of the driveway to John, "their battle techniques usually involve another round of back-up arriving shortly after. They'll be here within the minute."
John uses his telekinesis to lift Sarah weightlessly inside the house, and Adam and I bring the chests in. We only have enough time to place them down inside the living room when John and Adam hurry outside to fight the oncoming horde of Mogs, leaving me behind.
I'm halfway to the front door when I realise that I'm completely out of ammo- I rush back inside and search around Sarah's body, finally finding a small pistol in her back pocket. I turn on the lights in the upstairs bedroom to give us some way to see in the fight before I rush outside to help them. Adam uses the car for cover and sprays his gun into the oncoming group of soldiers. Three of them turn to ash as John jumps onto the roof giving him a height advantage over the others. He sprays fireballs into another crowd of Mogs, which team up with my bullets to decimate five unlucky soldiers.
"Hear that? I think they've brought their pets!" John says with a smirk as a low growl is heard from within the trees. Three armed enemies come out from the trees, but do not advance any further, trying to lure John in. He's forced to go into hand-to-hand combat as his fireballs would ignite the forest, which would draw a ton of attention towards our return. He easily overpowers them and they crumble in his hands. He turns back towards me with a wide grin etched across his face, when I see the exact thing that I don't want to – a giant lion-like creature with eight huge legs and sharp, metallic claws rushing towards him from the woods. I try to shoot at it and realise that I've used up the whole magazine of ammo; I'm no help and he's facing his death. As if in slow-motion, John turns to see this monster a few feet away from his face when the ground starts to shake.
Adam stomps the ground again and puts enough distance between us and the monster for John to clamber to his feet and rush to Adam's side. I run inside and watch the battle through the front window. Sarah wakes up with a start and understands that we're in danger. She feels for her gun but sees it in my hand, realising that she's already missed a large part of the fight. I turn my view to the battle happening outside and I see the creature approaching the two men, standing there helpless. John isn't fast enough, and the monster swipes two huge claws towards John and Adam.
As if from nowhere, Bernie Kosar appears and smashes the monster into a tree, which promptly collapses into the others. He mauls the side of the monster and pushes him out into full view of the two standing in the driveway. John sends fireballs at its underbelly and it screams in agony. Adam fires at it but to no avail, and the creature soon gets back up and swipes at BK, who retreats with a wound in his side and shapeshifts back into a helpless beagle. I see John's worried face and he says something to Adam, to which he nods his head in approval.
John steps behind him and uses all his power to create a large fireball in his hand. Adam keeps the creature occupied whilst John's fireball grows to the size of his chest, with John visibly sweating from the effort that he is putting into it. The former Mog steps towards the creature bravely, and stomps down his right foot, sending the creature flying upwards. John uses this opportunity to launch the fireball at its temporarily-exposed chest and the scream of the monster cuts out, leaving an eerie silence filling the air. The ash falls from the sky and I'm amazed at how well they worked together to finish off that creature; a great idea by John.
"We need to get out of here, fast!" Adam exclaims to me through the window. Sarah and I rush outside and see that BK has a large cut down his side, which John heals – he must've developed this legacy when I was in captivity. BK jumps up at the car door and gets inside. Sarah rushes outside and takes her seat in the back of the car, and I'm just in the process of following them, when I realise who I've just left behind.
I turn round and say a teary farewell to my Mum. This might be the last time we see her, and we should try to avoid returning, for her safety. "I love you, Mum," are the only words I can mumble in my nervous state, and I start to walk to the car. I turn to see my Dad standing in the doorway, and he's lost in his thought – he doesn't seem to want to leave. He snaps out of it soon enough, and gets in the driver's seat of the car. We all get in the car and strap ourselves in, ready to leave.
"We'd better be off," Adam says.
"Where to?"
"The Everglades."
Author's Note: Thanks for the feedback, it's greatly appreciated. I would love to hear your opinions on which way this story could pan out and therefore if you have a good idea, make sure to leave it in a review! Thanks!