CHAPTER NINETEEN
7
The rail tracks guide the way as I sprint through a heavenly landscape of beautiful, thriving hills and lush, green meadows.
Or at least the landscape would seem heavenly, if it weren't for the heavy clouds of rain that block out about every single ray of sunlight. And as if that wasn't enough to ruin the surrounding scenery already, a chaotic storm of gigantic raindrops keeps rampaging down from the sky, bathing this poor piece of landscape in a grey, cold atmosphere.
Not that it would matter, I don't have time to stop and enjoy the view anyway. There's no time for that. Every second I'd waste lowers my chances of finding Eight.
I shake my head in frustration. I need to stop pretending. The chances of finding Eight are close to zero already.
'Follow the rails,' John had said with a reassuring nod, just before I had jumped off the train. 'Follow the rails and eventually you'll find them.'
Right. Follow the rails. That's what I've been doing for the past fifteen miles. With a pace no human could keep up for a minute, I've passed at least a thousand hills in the last half an hour or so. Up and down, up and down, and always following the rail tracks.
My legs hurt like hell and my lungs feel as if someone set them on fire. Not only did I take in way too much smoke from the explosion on the train, I've never run this far without resting in my entire life. Back at the abbey in Santa Teresa, there never was a reason to do anything like this. Nothing I've ever done before has prepared me for this.
As much as I'd like to keep the memory of my dead Cêpan free of all the anger and rejection I used to feel for her, I just can't help but grit my teeth in silent rage when I think of how ignorant and selfish Adelina was by pretending she didn't have to train me. The only reason she survived the Mogadorian invasion of Lorien is because she was my Cêpan. The entire Loric population died that day, just so she and the rest of us could escape. The least one could ask for in return for her life is that Adelina would fulfil the only task she was trusted with. And if she didn't want to do her job out of gratitude or obligation towards the Loric, she could have at least done it for me.
I sometimes wonder if she actually cared for me at all. What was she thinking when she just decided not to train me? Did she really believe we would be safe for ever in that abbey? That the Mogs would never come looking for us?
Did she ever even love me? If yes, why would she refuse to help me, even when I was on my knees, begging her to train me?
I bite my lip and try to shake off the dark thoughts. The grey cover of clouds above me seems to not only darken the sky, but also my mood. I can't afford to fall into this downward spiral of childhood issues now, not when Eight's life could depend on me.
'Follow the rails,' I keep repeating John's words in my mind, trying to keep my spirits up. If John believed I could make it as long as I stayed on this path, then I'm going to at least have to give it a shot.
The truth is, though, that me ever finding Eight out here is incredibly unlikely. My stomach seems to tense up at this thought, but I have to face the facts.
Eight is one of the most mobile of all Garde. With his teleporting, he could be a hundred miles away by now. And if he didn't teleport, he can still outrun me with ease. He's thoroughly fit, whereas what I'm doing can hardly even be classified as running. I bet he could just go twice as fast as me. Which means he's way out of my reach right now.
And even if he didn't run away, he could have just stepped a few hundred feet away from the rail tracks, and I'd have no chance of finding him. I might have even passed him already without noticing. How could John be so sure I'd find him?
"Follow the rails and eventually you'll find them," he had said. My heart skips a beat as I realize the difference to what I was assuming he had meant up to now.
Them. Not him.
An icy presentiment creeps through my guts as I slowly begin to realize what John might have really tried to tell me.
I shortly hesitate, then I force myself onwards, despite my heavy mind. I don't know how long I can continue like this, sooner or later I'll need to stop and rest. Each breath I take is more painful than the last one and I can already feel my knees get floppy. Not much longer and they'll just give in.
The heavy rain keeps getting heavier while I hold my head pressed back into the nape of my neck, trying to relax my muscles. I really should get some sleep sometime, or I'll just collapse sooner or later. When was the last time we actually got the chance to rest?
I let out a surprised yelp as I trip over a stone I hadn't noticed. I fall flat on my face and keep sliding forward on the wet ground for a few feet, dragging my head in the mud.
Sure, why not, a furious voice inside my head shouts. Why not make me trip me as well, as if just running wasn't hard enough already.
I clench my fists in frustration, take a deep breath and try to get up. Immediately, a sharp pain shoots up my left leg and I drop back to the ground, right back into the mud. The angry voice in my head keeps cursing around while I rip my shoe off my foot and inspect. I must have twisted it when I fell. Well, at least it's not broken.
With a painful groan I press a hand onto my hurt leg and begin to summon my healing legacy. An icy tickling sensation shoots through my hand and continues to flow into my ankle as the healing process begins. I hardly even notice my breathing speed up anymore.
I've done this so often by now, I don't even have to watch what I'm doing, it just comes naturally.
While I slowly regain a numb feeling in my foot, I let my gaze wander over the surrounding hills.
Like a gigantic reptile sneaking up on the horizon, the rails wind through the landscapes. The hills themselves remind me of waves in a huge frozen sea of pale green and grey, seeming to rise and fall over and over again, and yet always staying in the same place.
Despite the rain, or maybe even just because of the rain, the view of this eternal up and down is really impressive. The vastness of these empty meadows makes me feel tiny and unimportant but yet strangely calm.
Two red dots in the distance catch my eye and I shield my face from the rain with my free hand to see more clearly.
It's our train's backlights, disappearing in the hills. Despite my legacy to see without light the grey curtain of rain almost entirely blocks the pillar of smoke still rising from the exploded back wall from my view. The train is so far away already, I can't make out any details.
I scan the hills for a sign of Sarah and John, but there's nothing there except for the train disappearing into the distance.
I really hope they got off the train in time before the Mogs got through to that last train car. when I had left them behind to go after Eight, Sarah had been shaking from fear of jumping off. And who could blame her? I was scared, too, and I got the Loric agility plus my healing legacies. John had looked kind of torn between forcing Sarah to make the jump and saving her from the Mogs.
All in all, I can relate to what Sarah is going through right now, though. She has been forced into a role she doesn't want to play in a conflict she never should have found out about in the first place, all because she loved someone too much to see through them.
I went through a similar thing with Adelina. At the beginning of our time at Santa Teresa, I shouldn't have trusted her to do what was best for us when she obviously had different things in mind. She had been tired of being a Loric, tired of being a stranger no matter where we went. She rather wanted to be sister Adelina, maybe not proud of her past but at least content with the present. I should have known back then what her attitude would lead to.
Just like Sarah should have known John was trouble for her. And now she's stuck with him, too stubborn in love to let go.
I shake my head, shocked by my own meanness. Sarah already has enough problems of her own to deal with, judging her for a mistake I made myself just doesn't seem fair.
I glance down at my foot, making sure it's fully recovered, then I put my shoe back on and get up. After testing if my leg supports my full weight again, I pick up my old pace and continue the race along the tracks, my thoughts returning to that last scene before I jumped off the train.
From the moment I had first noticed the two Mogs sitting in the back of the car, I had known there was something strange about them. They didn't attack us, they didn't stop us from blocking off the rest of the Mog army, in fact, they didn't even seem to care about us at all.
I never lost that creepy feeling about the two of them, though. I didn't even dare turning my back to them, fearing they might jump at me while I wasn't looking.
Eight didn't seem to share my suspicion towards them, though. On the contrary, when we were trying to find a way to escape the Mog army, all he seemed to have eyes for was the Mog girl.
That very moment had seemed to last for ever, Eight and that Mog staring into each others eyes, me helplessly standing aside, not knowing what to do. I could almost see a tie bonding them together in this one look, like two soul mates meeting for the first time.
It was just… wrong. There is no other way to describe it.
Eight had seemed to be in a completely different world, caught in this stare that just didn't want to end. I have heard of the Mogs' mesmerizing powers, how they can awaken your darkest fears and turn them against you. How they make you want to crawl into a hole and hide for the rest of your life. How they can force even the strongest and bravest warriors to flee with just one simple look.
This situation seemed to be different, though. When Eight gazed at that Mog girl, he had been far from scared. His eyes had seemed to be empty, his mind far away, disconnected from everything around him, completely focused on that girl. His mouth slowly formed a smile, not a big one, just a hint. Eight didn't look like he was about to crawl into a hole and hide at all, he seemed to actually be happy.
I still remember the cold, bitter feeling creeping down my spine, through my guts and straight up my throat again. Containing my anger was a really difficult task back then, I don't know how I actually managed to do it. My mind almost exploded in a mix of disgust, sorrow and – most of all – jealousy.
You know how they say a look says more than a thousand words. Well, this one must have said at least a million.
Even after Eight had finally looked away, I caught him staring at the girl all the time.
I tried to tell myself that it was nothing, but there was something odd about the way he looked at the Mogs now, as if he had forgotten they actually were our enemies.
As the scene slowly got to its end and the Mog guy throws that bomb and rips that hole into the wall, I didn't know what to think anymore. The sudden realization that the explosion hadn't hit us but rather created a way to escape and the confusion about whether this was an accident or if those Mogs were actually trying to help us was just too much.
But I never got the chance to reconsider the whole thing back then.
The Mog girl had shot Eight another one of those looks, and I had thought I would just blow up from that deep, consuming rage about the way Eight reacted. Because when the two Mogs made their next unpredictable move and just jumped out of the hole they had just created, he hadn't hesitated to just follow them, leaping through the hole right after them and leaving me in a shocked, desperate and torn state.
Too shocked to really do anything right away, I hesitated to go after him. I was scared of jumping off the train, I was scared of those two Mogs, especially the girl, and I was scared of going all by myself.
Not following Eight right away was mistake I regret deeply now, but at the time I was so distracted by the absurdity of the situation, I had no idea what to do.
If I hadn't waited for so long back then, Eight wouldn't have had such a huge head start now and I might have actually had a chance of finding him before the Mogs did something horrible to him.
But, as always, I messed up. And now the consequences could be deadly for Eight.
I'd like to punch myself in the face, cursing my inability to make quick decisions. If something were to happen to Eight, I just couldn't live with myself, knowing I could have prevented it.
When I had finally decided to leave the train, the Mog army had already been about halfway through destroying the little barricade of train seats blocking them off.
Even though John had told me to go and find Eight, I feel bad for not staying there and helping him get Sarah out. If they didn't make it in time, it's my fault, and I just lost another two friends.
At least the fact that no fourth scar has burnt itself into my ankle means John's still alive. Can't be sure about Sarah, though.
But what am I thinking, of course they made it out – it's John. John, the one and only number four. The one destined to die next in line, but who instead managed to survive everything the Mogadorians threw at him, not only keeping the rest of us safe up to the point we all got together, but also proving he wasn't going to go down so easily. I don't think there actually is a situation he couldn't handle. He's the kind of Garde that Lorien needs. Strong, smart, a natural born leader, the exact opposite of me.
No need to worry about them, if Sarah is still with him, they're both fine.
What I need to worry about, though, are those two Mogs that are now freely moving around out here.
Even though Eight obviously trusted them enough to choose following them over staying with us, that only gives me more reasons to be cautious. It may be like Eight to senselessly throw himself into unnecessary danger, just like when he had teleported right next to Six who had turned out to be Setrákus Ra, which had almost cost all of us our lives, but it's definitely not like me. For all we know, the two Mogs were just trying to gain our trust, luring us out of the train one by one to then finish us off when we're separated.
They could be still roaming the area, preparing ambushes on each of us, trying to catch us off guard. They might even be right behind me at this very moment, just waiting for an opportunity to strike.
At this thought, my heart drops down to my boots and I throw a quick glance over my shoulder, almost expecting a Mog to jump at me.
But there's nothing there, no Mog, no Eight, nothing but the not quite as heavenly landscape.
I sigh and let out a long, hoarse cough, holding my hips, where a burning stitch throbs painfully. I really can't go on like this much longer, my lungs are killing me. The crushing feeling of being a useless failure seems to weigh me down even more, only adding to the overwhelming exhaustion. My feet feel like a car just ran over them several times, and all I want to do is just lie down and rest.
Of course, I could actually do that. I could simply end this torture right here and now, wait for John and Sarah, as they promised to follow the rail tracks as well. Sooner or later they'd catch up to me and we could figure something out together. John will surely know what to do, he always does.
For a second, I seriously consider this option. Just stop, calm down and wait. Wait for the others to take over, wait for the others to make my decisions, wait for the others to tell me what to do.
But what keeps me from simply giving up, though, what keeps driving me forward and makes me put one foot in front of the other over and over again, is the thought of what the two Mogs will do to Eight if I don't find him soon.
Usually, Eight could easily deal with two simple Mogs all by himself. I've seen him fight and beat far worse than just this few Mogadorians.
But these are not just simple exempl, and this is anything but easy. I'm not even sure what I'll be able to do when I find him – if I find him. Compared to Eight's powers, I'm rather useless. Especially when I'm in this condition.
But never mind how little harm I might do, I still have to try. Eight needs me, not that creepy Mog girl.
But as time passes and I get to the point where I have to fight with my body for every step I take, my pool of hope and motivation slowly empties out. Every time I reach the top of another hill and all I see is nothing but more pale grey hills in front of me, I am more frustrated than before.
The rain still keeps getting heavier, and it looks like a thunderstorm is going to start soon. Vehement winds and the chaos of clouds arise, making moving forward even harder.
While I try to keep my desperation from getting to my head, I think of Six and her power to control storms just like this.
Six. We haven't heard of her and Nine for an eternity. Since the moment we had to leave her behind in that park.
I miss her. Very much.
I clench my fists and force myself to focus.
What would Six do if she were in my place right now?
Keep going. She would keep going.
I sigh and run on. One more step. One more hill. One more minute.
Trying to save the small rest of energy I have left, I keep my head low, dragging myself onward, even closing my eyes for a while.
That's how I only realize where I am when I almost run into a tree.
I stop dead in my tracks and almost faint from exhaustion and sudden fear. Rising panic threatens to cut off my air pipe as I look around and notice I'm already deep inside a forest. Except for that, I have no clue where I might have wandered off to.
There's no sign of the rail tracks, either. Nothing but trees, rain, and the whistling wind.
And voices, coming closer.
Mog voices.
Hey there folks,
To start off, I hope reading this chapter wasn't quite as boring as writing it. Looking through it a second time, I realized there is absolutely nothing happening this time. Sorry about that, but I felt like I had to make this part of the story, to reflect on the past events from a different perspective.
So, if you found this lame, so did I :/
The next one will be a bit more entertaining. At least I hope so :P
By the way, I updated chapter 17, added a few passages towards the end of the chapter, if you want to, feel free to check it out.
As for the reviews:
Zack619: Sorry to disappoint, but its Marina's turn this time :)
Mysteryfanaticno1: There you go ^^
I-wish-I-could-be-Number-Five: You got it, boss. You just keep updating your stories and I'll work on mine, deal? :P
That's all I got for this time, if you have any suggestions, complaints about a certain shitty chapter or thoughts you'd like to share with me, please do so :)
Have a great time until next chapter, and as always, thanks for reading my story.