CHAPTER FIVE

Time seems to slow down the moment Ella gives us the signal. Everything around me seems to move in slow motion.

I watch as John shoves Agent Walker away from Sarah so hard, she goes flying in a spectacularly wide arc and hits the wall of a building about twenty yards away. Guess we won't be seeing much of her anymore.

The buildings all around the park come alive as a sudden burst of gunfire breaks through their windows. Must be where the snipers have been hiding all along.

Shrieking Gunshots ring in my ears and I suppress the urge to seal them with my hands. I'll be needing my hands to teleport us out of here.

I take a deep breath and try to concentrate at the incoming bullets. My throat gets dry and my stomach tenses up from nervousness.

I redirect a couple of the bullets with telekinesis so they hit the road around us, but Walker was right: Even with the help of John and Marina, it's impossible to stop them all. There's just too many of them coming from too many different angles.

To my left, John steps in front of Sarah to protect her from the gunshots. He says something I can't understand over the deafening noise of the gunshots, then he quickly pulls her to us and they both grab hold of my left hand

A bullet races past my cheek and I flinch. Another one brushes my biceps. I try to hold off as many as possible, but more and more slip through my defence.

Marina dive towards me, grabbing my right hand.

I turn my head to Ella, the only one still missing. Keeping her head low, tucked up between her arms, she is bolting towards us at full speed. She's only fifteen feet away One or two more seconds until she will reach us.

Then the first bullet hits her.

I didn't see this one coming, or else I would have stopped it at all cost. I gasp, but I hesitate to run towards her. If I help her, it means I'll turn my back to at least half of all those snipers. Once I can't see where the shots come from, I won't be able to reflect them and we will get crushed by the soldiers.

Helplessly, I watch as a jolt shakes Ella's little body and she's blown off her feet like a leaf in the wind. She hits the ground and skids to a halt.

Marina cries out and I can tell there's nothing she wants more than to come to Ella's aid, but I hold her back.

"I need you here," I shout at her. "We need you to redirect the bullets with us. Ella will need to take care of herself."

As cruel as it sounds, I know it's the only way. I can't let go of Marina's hand, or else we will all be dead in a matter of seconds.

Ella manages to sit up, staring at the gaping hole in her chest. The bullet got her just underneath the heart, and a stream of blood runs down her shirt. Every move seems to cause her unbearable pain.

Yet, she struggles to her feet.

The effort it must take her is unimaginable, but she starts stumbling towards us, groaning in agony with every step she makes. Her expressions show unbearable suffering and torture, but still, she keeps going, pressing her hands on the wound in her chest.

It amazes me how she doesn't give up yet. Maybe she can still make it. Only a few more steps. I could teleport all of us and then Marina would be able to heal her.

The second bullet hits Ella in the leg.

I hear the cracking noise as it breaks her shin bone. She twists her ankle and falls over, landing head first.

Marina screams at me to let her go, to let her help Ella. She desperately tries to wrench from my grip around her hand, but I can't let go. If I do, the blaze of gunfire will have her killed before she will even halfway reach her. I can't risk losing her, too. I'll never forgive myself.

Ella pants for breath as she spits out blood to the side.

She tries to get up, yelping as she tries shifting her weight to the broken leg. She immediately drops back to her knees.

A single tear rolls out of her eyes, creating tiny cracks in the layer of dirt on her face. It breaks my heart to see her like this and not to be able to do anything about it.

She lies down and tries pulling herself forward with her hands, desperately trying to somehow move towards us

Her unswerving will can't be broken, and the fact that she doesn't give up hurts me even more. Pretty much anyone would just surrender by now; simply faint from the pain and the hopelessness of the situation.

But not Ella.

Her courage and bravery compared to me - being too damn scared to even help her when she shows such strength - makes me want to crawl away into a hole of shame and never come out again.

When the third bullet hits Ella in the shoulder she collapses on the spot.

I can't hold Marina back anymore. She escapes my grasp and dashes towards Ella.

I start rushing after her, when I see a bullet incoming from the corner of my eyes. I immediately know it will hit Marina if she keeps running at exactly that speed. I'm way too upset right now to bring up enough concentration to stop such a small thing.

All I have is a fraction of a second to decide what to do.

If we run over to Ella, we will all be shot in the back by the time we reach her. Those soldiers are trained way better than the ones I've fought against before. Their aim is so accurate, we would all be dead right now if it weren't for our telekinesis.

If I run after Marina and teleport her out, then come back for John and Sarah, they'll probably be perforated by then.

If I get John and Sarah out first, Marina will be dead in a matter of seconds.

My heart pounds so hard it might just explode any second.

I think about what life was like only an hour ago, when all of us still were together in our little apartment.

We had expected the action to be over, at least for a little while. We had allowed ourselves to relax, we had let our guard down and we had got too comfortable, even though we knew our enemies would come after us.

Our laziness is why we got into this whole mess in the first place. It makes me want to slap myself in the face, but there's no time for that.

In fact, there's no time for anything, but this one decision.

The Dilemma rips me apart. I try to think of something, anything that could help me make this choice. Anything that could tell me what to do. What's wrong and what's right.

Ella raises her head, her big, brown, innocent eyes focused on mine. They reflect everything I'm feeling right now: Despair. Anger. Regret.

But there's something else, too. Hope.

Hope for the rest of us to still escape, to still make it out of here.

In a final effort, she motions towards Marina with her head and mouths 'Go!'

A last bullet hits her neck and she stops moving.

The world around me goes silent. All the gunshots, Marina's shouting, even my own heartbeat gets muted.

And I know what I have to do.

I yank John and Sarah forward towards Marina while pulling her back with my telekinesis.

Now that I'm not deflecting any gunshots at all, Nothing stands between the hail of bullets and us. John and I groan at the same time as we are hit multiple times, but we keep going.

My hand is shivering so intensely when I reach out for Marina that I miss. On the second try I get hold of her arm. She yells at me to let go, but I don't. It's what Ella wanted me to do.

I allow myself one last glance at Ella. Lying on the dusty road, her tiny, gentle features look so peaceful, you could mistake her for sleeping.

With a lump in my throat I close my eyes and teleport us out of here.

Hi everybody!

Fast version, as I am late to a meeting and I wanted to get this out before tomorrow:

Thanks for your overwhelmingly awesome reviews. I probably would have stopped writing at the second chapter or so, if it weren't
for them

Next thing, as I already said, I'll be away next week. I'll try to write at least one chapter while I'm gone, maybe even more, so make sure to check back next friday.

So, see you all next week, and as always, thanks a damn lot for reading my story :)