[Lorien Legacies 03.0] The Rise of Nine Page 16

  ‘What’s your favorite memory of Earth so far?’ I imagine Marina asking the table.

  ‘Right now,’ John says. ‘This one, right here. Safe, with all of you.’

  We all agree, raising our glasses to successfully finding each other. Number Five gets up, leaves the room and reenters with an enormous chocolate cake. Everyone cheers and plates are passed around. When I take a bite, it’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever tasted.

  Of course, none of this has happened. I’m just a lone, crazy person, sitting in an abandoned, brokendown grocery store in the middle of the desert. I must be crazy, because as I come out of my dream of feasting with the Garde, I realize I am chewing. Chewing air with a satisfied smile on my face. I shake my head and will away my tears. I have not battled Mogs, survived a Mogadorian cell and watched Katarina die to have it all end in the middle of the desert, alone. I pull my knees up to my chest and rest my forehead on them. I have to figure out a plan.

  It’s still sweltering hot when I leave the ghost town. I’ve rested from the sun for a while, but I know I have to keep moving before I lose all of my strength. I’ve walked about a mile towards the mountains through the burning sand when I feel the most intense cramping in my legs and stomach. I focus what little mental energy I have left on uprooting a few nearby cacti and manage to get a mouthful of water from them.

  I concentrate on my Legacy and try to summon another thunderstorm from the few scraggly clouds overhead, but all I manage to create is a plume of sand that washes over me, burying me up to my knees.

  For the first time, I’m not just nervous about what’s to come; I’m scared I’m going to die out here. I have nothing left. The Elders chose me as a warrior to save our race, and I’m going to die in the middle of a desert.

  I feel myself starting to panic, to truly lose it. I have just enough of a grip to know I can’t lose it – I’m so vulnerable out here that it will be all over if I do. I’m so desperate I think back to last night, and my imaginary meal with the rest of the Garde. To keep myself focused I think about what I wish I could say to them right now.

  Hey,Marina,how are things? Me? I’m in a desert heading to some mountain. I’m guessing I must be in New Mexico, based on what Eight said about where he was able to teleport to before.I’m growing weak, Marina. I don’t know how much longer I can hold on.And I don’t know where you are,but please, please find a way to get from wherever it is you landed and come and find me.

  Ella? Do you know how sorry I am about Crayton? I know how much it hurt, watching him die, leaving him behind. I promise you, we will avenge his death, and I will be the one out front. If I make it out of this desert, I will avenge all of Lorien.

  Eight, I couldn’t find the Loralite. I see no sign of food,water,shelter,civilization,and I am alone.Can you tell me where the Loralite is? I want to get out of here; I want to find you guys.

  I don’t even feel stupid, chatting in my head to people who are almost certainly on the other side of the world. I close my eyes and desperately wait for someone to answer me. No one does, of course. So, I trudge on. It gets harder to place one foot in front of the other. I start to waver, listing to the right, then the left, almost falling but catching myself at the last moment. Eventually, though, I can’t steady myself and I fall forwards. I resign myself to crawling and continue like this for a while with my eyes closed against the blinding sun. After a while I look up to check where the sun is in the sky and again think I’m imagining a mirage when I see a gate made of solid metal a few hundred feet away. It’s over twenty feet tall, topped with spiraling barbed wire. Even from this distance, I can hear the hum of electricity. The fence is charged. This goes a long way towards convincing me it isn’t a mirage.

  Although I have no idea what’s behind this gate, I need help, and I’m at the point where I don’t care where that help comes from. I crawl over to the gate and manage to sit up. I wave my hands over my head, hoping it’s monitored.

  ‘Please help me,’ I manage to whisper, my throat as dry as sandpaper.

  The gates don’t open and no one emerges. I let myself slide back down into the sand. I try to gather the last bit of strength I have to make one more go of it. I roll over onto my stomach and pull myself slowly up to my feet. I decide to test the fence. What’s a little electricity after near starvation and life-endangering thirst? I look around and spot a small cactus. I float it up into the air, and drop it onto the fence, where it sizzles and pops. The charred remains fall to the ground, smoking.

  I let myself fall first to my knees, then onto my side, then, finally, roll onto my back. I close my eyes. I feel blisters forming on my dry lips. I hear a faint mechanical noise behind me, but I can’t lift my head to see what it is. I know I’m losing consciousness. There’s a swirling echo in my ears and then a low drumming. A few seconds later, I swear I hear Ella.

  Wherever you are, Six, I hope you’re okay, she says.

  A short laugh comes out of my mouth, followed by a sob. I’m sure there would be tears, if I had any moisture left in my body. I’m dying in a desert, Ella, I respond. The one with the mountains. I’ll see you on Lorien one day, Ella.

  I hear her voice again, but I this time I can’t make out what she’s saying. She is drowned out by a new noise in my head, choppy and loud. And then I feel it. It’s a high wind that whips my hair over my face. I slowly open my eyes to see three black helicopters hovering over me. Men yell for me to put my hands over my head, but all I can do is close my eyes.

  20.

  Ella is floating above me. She is in a panic, eyes wide, bubbles shooting out of her mouth. I’m trying to figure out what’s going on, how she got here, why there is so much water. I try to reach for her hand, but my arms won’t do as I ask them. What happened to me when we teleported? I can tell my face is numb, and there’s a pain behind my eyes that’s unbearable. My legs won’t kick no matter how hard I try. All I can do is watch Ella float higher and higher above me, away from me. Where did all this water come from? My left shoulder begins to rock violently, and it takes a second to realize someone is shaking my arm. Then I see Eight, his black curls hovering over his head like a halo. He hooks his arm under my armpit and I try not to let his look of concern scare me more than I already am. He tries to swim us towards the surface, but the Chest under my arm weighs us down.

  I let the freezing water enter my lungs. It’s the only thing I can do. Eight kicks the Chest out of my paralyzed arms and yanks me upwards. We start to rise. I look around wildly for a glimpse of Six, but I don’t see her.

  When my head breaks the surface of the water, the first thing I’m aware of is a glaring, hot sun. Everywhere I look is water. I see Ella treading water nearby. A few minutes in the fresh air gets my limbs to start working, so I tread water as well. Eight appears fully occupied with cursing our luck.

  ‘Where’s Six?’ I cry, coughing. I keep whipping my head around to see if I can spot her blonde head bobbing around on the surface.

  ‘I couldn’t find her down there!’ Eight yells. ‘I have no idea if she made it or not!’

  ‘Why wouldn’t she have made it?’ Ella asks, a new panic rising in her voice.

  Eight slowly rises out of the water until he’s standing on the surface. It doesn’t look as easy for him this time. He kicks the tip of a slow passing wave, pissed. ‘Damn it! I knew I shouldn’t have tried to teleport with so many people!’

  ‘But where could she be? How do we find her?’ Ella cries.

  ‘I don’t know. For all I know, she’s still back at what’s left of the cave.’

  My limbs are still coming around slowly, and I’m struggling to just keep my head above water. ‘What! She’ll be killed if she’s still there!’

  Ella is also struggling to stay afloat. Eight pulls her over to him so she can get on his back, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. ‘Six could have ended up somewhere else, too,’ Eight says, trying to sound more hopeful. ‘I just don’t know where, exactly.’

  ‘W
here are we?’ I ask.

  ‘That much I know.’ Eight sounds relieved to have a definitive answer to something. ‘We’re in the Gulf of Aden. And that . . .’ he points at the coastline in the distance that I didn’t see before. ‘That’s Somalia.’

  ‘How do you know?’ asks Ella.

  ‘I ended up here once before,’ he says flatly. He doesn’t elaborate, so there must be more to his story.

  I don’t know much about Somalia, other than it’s in Africa and is in a perpetual state of brutal tribal and civil war, not to mention the poverty that keeps tempers high. I don’t know if I have the strength to use my telekinesis or even to swim underwater to get to that coastline; I’m even less sure if I want to. I need to think.

  ‘You know what? I’m going to go under for a bit. I can save some energy down there while we figure out what to do,’ I say. As I go down, I hear Ella call out.

  ‘Look for Six!’

  Her words give me a surge of strength. Just the possibility of finding Six puts new energy in my dive. I go deep and open my eyes. The water is relatively blue, even this far away from land. There’s movement below me and I dive further to find a small school of tuna. I slowly twist around in circles, looking for even a glimpse of Six’s dyed blond hair, and more than twice I’m fooled by waving strands of seaweed. I look up and see the faint shadow of Eight’s body on the surface. Feeling confident my strength will stay with me, I descend until I touch the bottom. Navigating my way along the sea floor and scanning the water ahead of me, I accidentally brush up against a mass of coral and cut my knee. The sharp pain stuns me for a second and I reach down and touch it, to heal it, and it takes longer than I expect for my Legacy to work. Whatever happens during teleporting must have some effect on our Legacies and our strength. Grateful that my breathing seems to be okay, I can only hope this doesn’t last long – I don’t want us to be vulnerable.

  I keep moving and eventually find my Chest next to Eight’s, and spot the large, blue Loralite stone a few feet away from them both. I try to pick up the Chests, but am too weak to budge them. I look up and see Eight’s shadow still in the same spot and decide to ask for his help.

  As I ascend I cut through a school of beautiful orange fish. I break the surface. ‘No sign of Six, but the Loralite stone is down there, right next to our Chests,’ I report. ‘Let’s get them and go. We’ll teleport somewhere else, see if we can catch up to wherever Six has landed.’

  ‘Don’t we need to be at the Loralite to teleport? How will I get down there?’ Ella asks. ‘I can’t hold my breath for that long.’

  ‘You don’t have to,’ Eight says with a grin.

  ‘Do you have a Legacy that turns you into a torpedo people can catch a ride on, too?’ I ask.

  ‘Better,’ Eight says. He reaches into his pocket and grabs the green crystal he put there when his Chest was first returned to him. The crystal begins to glow, and then a crazy amount of wind starts to shoot out from it. Eight aims it at the ocean. A shallow crater forms in the water below him and he falls into it. ‘Come on! Quick!’

  Ella and I swim into the crater. Eight holds out his free hand and I take it; Ella grabs my other hand.

  ‘Get ready. We’re about to drop. Fast!’ he says. ‘You have to stay with me because the water will collapse behind us. When we get to the bottom, Ella, be prepared to hold your breath long enough for me to grab the Chests.’

  ‘Everyone keep your eyes open for Six,’ I say.

  Ella squeezes my hand. ‘If she’s down there, we’ll find her.’

  Eight positions the crystal so it’s aimed at the ocean floor. ‘Here we go!’ he yells. We fall fast, the wind from the crystal blasting a small circle of water out of our way until it unites again a few feet behind Ella. We’re inside a bubble, shooting through the water. Eight howls in amusement; I can’t help but join in.

  Ella grabs my arm. ‘Six is in trouble!’ She says. ‘She says she’s in the desert!’

  ‘What are you talking about?’ I reply, as fish and sharks and squid pass us in a blur. ‘How do you know that?’

  Ella hesitates for a second before yelling, ‘I don’t really know! I just talked to her somehow in my head! She says she’s dying!’

  ‘If she’s in the desert, then she’s in New Mexico already!’ Eight shouts.

  ‘Eight, we’ve got to get there right away,’ I cry.

  We arrive on the ocean floor and try to run on the muddy bottom, but it’s impossible to move quickly. Water rushes in behind our pocket of air and the crystal swiftly becomes useless, creating a small whirlpool in front of us. I look back to make sure Ella is okay and holding her breath. When I turn around, Eight has transformed into a black octopus. He swings two tentacles out and snatches up our Chests, and with two of his other tentacles he grabs our hands. Eight pulls us towards the glowing blue Loralite stone sticking out of the mud floor. Before I can look at Ella again, I’m engulfed in darkness.

  21.

  Nine and I ride the elevator down in silence. I’m furious and utterly humiliated, and it’s got nothing to do with the feelings welling up inside of me. When we enter the apartment, Bernie Kosar jumps off the couch to ask if we are finished with all the nonsense.

  ‘I don’t think it’s up to me. What do you say, Johnny?’ Nine mutters. He opens the fridge and pulls out a slice of cold pizza. He flips the tip of it into his mouth, takes a huge bite and chews noisily.

  I lean down and scratch BK ’s chin. ‘I hope so, buddy.’ With a mouth full of pizza, Nine says, ‘Pack up your doggie bags, BK , because we’re hitting the road. We’re heading back to Paradise city, where the girls are pretty. And, damn, Four, take a shower already. You smell like smoke.’

  ‘Shut up,’ I say, falling onto the couch. Bernie Kosar climbs into my lap and looks up at me with sad eyes.

  Nine walks away, down the hallway. He calls back to me, ‘A deal’s a deal, man! We leave for Paradise in a couple hours, so you may want to grab a quick nap after your shower. And, hey! It’s a road trip! You can’t be bummed about a road trip!’

  I’m exhausted, but I slump towards my room. A deal is a deal. The bed moans when I fall onto it, but after a few minutes, I can’t bear my own smell. I drag myself into the shower. The water can’t get hot enough on my skin, a side effect of my Legacy. As I stand under the spray, so tired I’m swaying on my feet, I replay the fight on the roof in my mind. I try to figure out how I lost against Nine, but I can’t. I’m so tired. I think I’m mumbling to myself. I turn off the water and listen to the drops fall onto the shower floor. I grab a towel as I stumble back to bed. I need to rest.

  I climb in between the sheets and using telekinesis, turn off the light. I hear Nine’s thudding steps as he moves towards the surveillance room and I close my eyes. Sleep blankets my mind for a second before I hear a noise. Nine is lightly tapping on my open door. I have my back to him and I don’t move, even when he clears his throat and starts to speak. ‘Hey. Johnny? I’m sorry that I can be such a dick. I could blame it on being locked up for so long, that does something to you. But, honestly, I’m pushing here because I really do think I’m right. We need to go to Paradise. Now. So I hope we can be friends. I want to be friends. And I’m glad you’re here.’

  I haven’t moved a muscle the whole time he’s speaking and I’m stunned by this moment of sensitivity. I’m not sure what to say, even as I flip over. He’s a slouched shadow leaning in the doorframe. ‘I’m glad I’m here, too. Thanks.’

  ‘Sure.’

  Nine slaps the wall twice, looks down at the ground, then turns and walks away. As his footsteps move down the hall, my eyes drift closed. After a few minutes, I hear faint whispers. I know a vision or nightmare is coming. I’m aware I’m in bed, yet I’m frozen in place. I feel myself floating, and when a dark doorway forms above me, I start to spin in the air incredibly fast. I rocket through the doorway and I’m moving through a black tunnel with my arms stuck to my sides. As the black turns to blue, the whispers grow louder, repe
ating the same thing, over and over, ‘There is more to know.’

  The blue tunnel turns to green, and green turns back to black. Then, bam, I fall out of the tunnel and my bare feet land on a familiar rocky floor. I swing my arms and find I have control of my body once again. I’m back in the arena at the top of the mountain. I whip my head around, looking for Sam, but he’s nowhere to be seen. Neither is the other Garde member. The space is completely empty, even the bleachers.

  But then, in the center of the arena floor, a black stone flips over, and on the other side crouches a large Mog soldier, wearing a ragged black cloak and black boots. His waxy pale skin shines and the sword he holds above his head shimmers, as if lit from within. When he sees me, he stands and points the sword at me menacingly. It’s pulsing, as if somehow alive, an extension of the evil that wields it.

  I don’t hesitate. I rush right at him, my palms lighting up and emitting a powerful beam. When I’m ten yards away, I aim the Lumen at my feet and light them on fire. The flames climb up my body as I leap. The soldier jumps at me and when we meet, and I burrow a smoldering hole right through his chest. He turns to ash before hitting the ground.

  To my right, another black stone flips over; it’s another sword-wielding Mog. Two more flip to my left, and I hear others appear behind me. The stone under my feet starts to vibrate, and I dive away just as it rotates to produce a Mogadorian holding a cannon. After punching a hole through the closest soldier on my left, I start launching fireballs, battling with a newfound strength. My red bracelet comes to life, blasting open to sever the head of the giant soldier. In a minute, I wipe them all out. My adrenaline is pumping, and I’m listening for more stones to reveal my next round of suitors.