The Rise of Nine - Chapter 24

I hide behind a row of lockers in a long dark hallway while I turn visible. The pain from using my
Legacies is so intense I curl myself up into a ball, pressing the two batons into my ribs to get some relief.
I push my sweaty head against the cool cement wall and try to catch my breath, hoping the pain will
subside quickly. I’ve been going up and down hallways, but I worry I’m just running in circles. So far,
I’ve found an empty hangar and a lot of electronically locked doors. I know from when Sam and John
were caught by the police before that our telekinesis doesn’t work with electricity. I think about John and
Sam, Marina and the others. I hope they’re okay; or, at least, in less pain than I am. I picture John and Sam
waiting for me at our rendezvous point. We were supposed to meet there in a few days. What will they
think when I’m not there? I am so frustrated – and scared – I feel breathless. I know this kind of thinking
isn’t helpful, so I try to refocus my attention on how to get the hell out of here.
Almost on cue, an alarm sounds. The bleating overhead feels relentless as soon as it begins. I know
what this means and I know I need to get it together. Fast. Everyone is looking for me. Armed soldiers zip
down the long hallways in small open vehicles. Each time one passes, I’m tempted to pluck the men out,
hop in, and take off. But I’m sure I wouldn’t get very far and I’d give up the one advantage I have right
now. They don’t know where I am.
I’ve stopped trying to communicate with Ella. Clearly, I was just delusional. I’m on my own. I need to
stop talking to myself and find something to blast through a door and get out of here. I think I’m
underground. I just wish I knew how deep.
The lights go on in the hallway. As I discovered earlier, I know this means the motion-sensors have
been triggered. A moment later, I hear a vehicle coming my way. I clench my stomach, turn invisible, and
get the anticipated wrench of pain. Tears silently flowing down my face from the agony, I press myself up
against a wall and watch the cart crawl towards me carrying three soldiers. As it passes in front of me, I
hit the driver in the face with one of the batons. Man, do head wounds bleed a lot. Nose, mouth, forehead,
all gushing geysers. His (seemingly) spontaneous injury causes him to slam his foot on the gas pedal and
veer straight into a wall. The driver is out cold and the other two soldiers spill onto the cement floor.
They take in the driver’s face and see absolutely nothing around that might have caused it, and grab for
their walkietalkies. But I’m expecting this, and I’ve stepped into position to slam the closest man’s head
into the hood of the vehicle and kick his legs out from underneath him. The third soldier starts over to see
what happened, and I slam his head down too. Then I grab one of their badges and run.
I need to figure out where to go from here and I need to do it fast. I can’t stay invisible too much longer.
I use the swiped badge to get past an electronically locked door and find myself in a hallway
completely different from the others I’ve seen so far. I have to stop the pain, so I turn visible and
immediately feel relief. I look around and try to figure out where I am. The hall is wider than the others,
with a high ceiling that’s domed and carved out of sandstone. Two thick yellow pipes crawl along the
ceiling, flanked by drooping electrical lines. I come to a turn in the hallway and peek around the corner. I
don’t see anyone, so I flatten my back against the wall and ease around the corner. I’m facing a red door
with a sign that reads: DANGER . AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY. SHUTTLE ONE .
I try using my telekinesis to open the door, pushing through the pain, but another electric lock keeps it
shut. I’m about to try the badge again when I hear footsteps coming fast in my direction. I turn invisible
again, but it makes my stomach churn so violently I fall to the floor. I can’t survive another round of this,
no way. Around the corner someone yells, ‘I think I hear something this way!’
From the ground, barely able to stay invisible, I grab a guard by the ankle as he runs by. He goes
facedown onto the floor, giving me enough time to swipe my stolen badge through the electronic lock. The
door pops open and I slip inside.
I’m on a grated metal platform, high above three sets of train tracks that disappear down a circular
tunnel. A three-car tram, plastered with several different symbols of the U.S. government, sits empty on
the set of tracks closest to the platform. Outside the door behind me, I hear the guard I disabled yelling to
a group of men who have just arrived on the scene. I stumble down a narrow set of stairs and jump inside
the open doors of the tram, pulling down on the first lever I see.
My head snaps back as the tram takes off like a rocket. The circular tunnel blurs with red lights and
long dark shadows, and twice I zip under grated platforms like the one where I entered without slowing
down. The tracks suddenly dip and curve to the right, and then I’m rolling high over a long canal filled
with water. I’m hoping this will shoot me out into the desert. Instead, the tram slows down and stops
below another platform. There must be points at which there are automatic stops. The doors open and I
jog up the stairs. I’ve let myself turn visible again and appreciate how pain-free my stomach is, knowing
it won’t stay that way for too much longer. I’m going to need my Legacies to get out of here.
I take a deep breath and carefully try the door at the top of the stairs. It’s unlocked. Slowly, I open it
just a crack to peek and see what is on the other side. My eyes have barely focused when the door is
slammed open, clipping my shoulder painfully. I’m now face to face with a guard with a familiar weapon
hanging from his shoulder – a Mogadorian cannon. As soon as the guard reaches for it the cannon buzzes
to life with a spark of lights. But before he can press the trigger, I dive at him and we crash into a stone
wall. The guard rushes forward and tries to grab me by wrapping his thick arms around my waist. Instead,
I move just out of his reach and tackle his legs, pulling them out from under him. His skull makes a
horrible cracking sound when it hits the ground. I cringe, but I can’t stop to think about it. I quickly shove
his body just through the door into the tunnel and close it. I grab his cannon and bolt.
I look around to get my bearings. There are enormous, smooth columns holding up the ceiling of the
winding tunnel, and I weave in and out of them, keeping an ear out for more guards. My mind is racing,
sorting through what I’ve seen, trying to piece it together. First on the list, why did that soldier have a
Mogadorian cannon? Did he get it from a captured Mog? Or are the Mogs supplying the government with
their weapons? The tunnel forks and I slow, trying to decide which way to go. I see nothing to help me
choose, so I think of the last time I encountered a fork in a road. It was in the Himalayas, the one that
surprised Commander Sharma. I go left.
The first door I spot on the left is all glass. Through it I can see scientists in white coats and masks
moving around what look like large gardens brimming with tall green plants. Hundreds of powerful bright
lights hang low over them from the ceiling.
A red-haired woman in a dark suit enters through another door and walks over to one of the guys in a
white coat at the front of the room. Her right arm is in a sling and she has bandages on her cheek. She
watches the scientist pour a vial of liquid over a section of the closest garden. I am stunned to see the
plants instantly grow several feet taller and their tips split open. White vines spread in every direction,
creating a thick canopy over their heads. The scientist writes something on his clipboard, and then looks
up to talk to the woman. I don’t have time to duck out of the way and we make eye contact through the
glass door. I slowly raise the Mog cannon at him and shake my head. I have to hope he considers himself
a noncombatant and wants to stay out of the action. No such luck. I watch him slip his hand into his
pocket. Damn. He’s triggering something. There’s a noise over my head and a thick sheet of metal nearly
hits me as it falls in front of the glass door, protecting it. Alarms sound and I know the whole area is going
into lockdown. I can’t get captured. I brace myself for the pain about to take over my body and make
myself invisible.
Just in time. Soldiers pour into the tunnel and I inch along the wall to avoid them. The pain and the
wave of sickness doesn’t come. Whatever drug they gave me must have worn off. The relief I feel is
profound, though I don’t have time to enjoy it. A door clicks open on my right. Without thinking, I jump
through it and find myself in a narrow white hallway lined with more doors. Halfway down the hall a lone
soldier is backing out of one of them.
‘Please. Just shut up already,’ he calls into the room. ‘And you should really eat something.’
He pulls the door shut and starts to turn and walk away. But I’m right there and drop him with a right
hook to the jaw. I see his keys hanging from his belt, pull them off and frantically shove them into the lock
of the door he just closed, one after another, until I find the one that works. I am guessing whoever he was
talking to is no friend of his, and I could use an ally right now. I push the door open to see if today is the
day I make a new friend.
I suck in my breath, shocked at what I see. I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t the girl I see
cowering in the corner. She’s covered in grime and there are thick red welts on her wrists, but I recognize
her instantly. Sarah Hart. John’s girlfriend, and the one who turned John in to the police the night we went
back to Paradise.
She pulls herself shakily to her feet, using the walls on either side for support. She is steadying herself
to face whoever walks through the door. The fear in her eyes tells me only bad things happen when the
door opens. I remain invisible long enough to drag the unconscious soldier from the hall inside the room.
Leaving him just invites others to investigate, and I don’t need any company. I shove him into a corner,
hoping that he’s out of sight if there are cameras in here. I close the door.
‘Sarah?’ I say quietly.
She spins around, looking towards my voice but visibly confused. ‘Who is that? Where are you?’
‘It’s Six,’ I whisper. She gasps quietly.
‘Number Six? Where are you? Where’s John?’ she asks, her voice shaking.
I’m still speaking softly, not sure if we’re alone. ‘I’m invisible. Just sit back down like you were and
pretend I’m not here. Put your head down so we can talk. I’m betting they have you on camera.’
Sarah’s sinks back down into the corner, pulling her knees to her chest. She lowers her head, her hair
falling forward and blocking her face entirely. I walk over and sit down next to her on the floor.
‘Where’s John?’ she whispers.
‘ Where’s John?’ I can’t keep the anger out of my voice. ‘Right now, you can forget about John, Sarah.
You should know where John is; after all, you set him up, right? Because of you, he went to jail. And then,
I got him out. What I want to know is, what are you doing here?’
‘They brought me here,’ her voice trembling.
‘Who brought you here?’
Sarah’s shoulders shake as she cries softly into her knees. ‘The FBI . They keep asking me where John
is and I keep telling them I don’t know. You need to tell me where he is. I have to tell them or they’re
going to kill everyone I know!’ She sounds desperate.
I can’t say I’m very sympathetic. ‘That’s what happens when you switch sides, Sarah. You knew how
John felt about you; you knew he trusted you. And you used that to help these people. And now, they’re
using you. Now, quickly, tell me what you told them about John!’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ Sarah says, and she starts to sob even harder. I can’t help it; it
kind of breaks my heart seeing her like this. What have they done to her? Her long hair covers her face
and arms and she looks so small and young. I feel my anger melt away and I rest my hand on her back.
‘I’m sorry,’ I whisper.
She catches her breath at my touch and turns her head to look in the direction of my voice. I can just
make out her blue eyes; they’re red and bloodshot. To give her the strength to do what we need to I make
myself visible for a split second, show her the Mog cannon in my hands, and disappear again. I see a tiny
smile cross Sarah’s face before she turns her face back to her knees. She sighs, takes a deep breath and in
a much firmer voice says, ‘It’s good to see you. Do you know where we are?’
‘I think we’re in New Mexico in an underground base. How long have you been here?’
‘I have no idea,’ she says, wiping away a tear that has fallen on her leg.
I stand up and go over to listen at the door. I don’t hear anything. I know I’m wasting precious minutes,
but I have to ask. ‘I don’t get it, Sarah. Why did you turn John in? He’s in love with you. I thought you
cared about him.’
She flinches as if I’ve slapped her. Her voice is wobbly, but she looks me right in the eye when she
responds. ‘Really, I have no idea what you’re talking about, Six.’
I have to close my eyes and breathe a few times to keep my voice from rising, to keep my anger from
returning. ‘I’m talking about the night he came over to profess his undying love for you. Remember? Your
phone buzzed at two a.m., and the police arrived a minute later? That’s what I’m talking about. You broke
John’s heart when you turned him in.’ She starts to raise her head to respond, but I make a noise to remind
her to keep her head down.
She resettles her head on her knees and speaks in a flat voice. ‘That’s not what I was trying to do. I
didn’t have a choice. Please. Where is John? I need to talk to him.’
‘I’d like to talk to him too. I’d like to talk to all of them! First, though, we have to figure out a way out
of here.’ My voice is urgent.
She sounds defeated when she speaks again. ‘There is no way out of here. Not unless you want to fight
a thousand Mogadorians.’
‘What?’ I circle back to her. What is she talking about? This is a U.S. government facility, not a Mog
base. ‘You’ve seen them? The Mogs? They’re here?’
A glazed look washes over Sarah’s face. She no longer looks like the girl I met in Paradise, the human
girl who John fell in love with and was willing to do anything for. I don’t even want to think about what
the FBI and the Mogs have done to her. ‘Yes. I see them every day.’
I feel as if the wind has been knocked out of me. It was one thing to suspect this was the case – another
to have it confirmed. ‘Well, I’m here now,’ I announce, trying to make one of us feel more confident. ‘I
promise, the next Mog you see will have my foot up his ass.’
Sarah laughs quietly into her legs. Her shoulders relax a bit for the first time since I walked in. ‘Sounds
good to me. Six, please, can you tell me where John is. Is he okay? Will I be able to see him?’
I know she’s worried about Four, but her constant questions about him are beginning to really annoy
me. ‘To be perfectly honest, I haven’t seen him recently, Sarah. We split up. He went with Sam and
Bernie Kosar to get his Chest back, and I went to Spain to find another one of us. We were supposed to
meet up in three days, but I don’t see that happening right now.’
‘Where? Where are you supposed to meet? I need to know. It’s killing me, not knowing where he is.’
‘Right now, it doesn’t matter where we were supposed to meet because I won’t be there ,’ I explode.
‘We need to focus on how we’re going to get out of here.’
Sarah flinches at the anger in my voice. She tries again. ‘Where are the others? Where’s Number Five?’
Sarah asks.
I ignore her – she is clearly not listening to me. I walk back to the door and put my ear to it again. I hear
footsteps – definitely more than one person – coming down the hallway. I consider my options. I can
either lure them into the cell or I can take them down where they are. Either way, I know I need to deal
with them, turn Sarah invisible, and pick a direction for us to get out of here.
Sarah stands up. ‘What about Numbers Seven, Eight and Nine? Where are they? Are they together?’
If she doesn’t quiet down, she’s going to get us captured, or worse. I hiss at her, ‘Sarah! Enough! Stop!’
I put my ear against the door again and instantly know something is wrong. It sounds like the hallway is
packed with men. We’re trapped. I spin around to tell Sarah, but she looks like she’s in the middle of a
seizure. I am frozen seeing her body convulse and flop around the floor of the cell.
‘Sarah!’ I let myself become visible and run over to try and keep her head from slamming down on the
cement floor. Has she been drugged?
Sarah’s body starts to shake so fast she becomes a blur. I can only watch helplessly as a white outline
appears around her body. I reach out to touch it but before my fingers reach it, the line turns black. I focus
on Sarah with my mind to try and stop her convulsions with my telekinesis, but as soon as I try my brain
feels like it’s burning, like an enormous amount of dark energy is invading my skull. The next thing I
know, I am falling backwards, holding my throbbing head, my eyes squeezed shut. When I open them
again, I can’t believe what I’m seeing. Sarah Hart is growing taller, and darker, until she’s at least seven
feet tall. Her blond hair shortens until it’s a short black buzz cut. Her face morphs into a demonic
monster’s. A purple scar appears on one side of her now thick neck; then it slowly elongates until it
reaches the throat. When the scar finally stops growing, it begins to glow.
Did I just watch Sarah turn into Setrákus Ra? I’ve never seen him, but I’ve heard enough to have a
pretty good idea of what, or who, I’m looking at.
The door bursts open and I am momentarily blinded by a flash of blue light. The next thing I know, a
dozen Mog soldiers rush in, cannons up and ready.
I try to turn myself invisible, but nothing happens. I don’t have time to figure out why. I grab the cannon
I had set down to help Sarah, jump up, and fire it at one of the Mogs. He falls to my feet in a cloud of ash.
I keep shooting, killing two more, but as I turn to find my next victim, I’m yanked backwards and choked
by my pendant. I can turn my head enough to see I’m being held by the beast who was once Sarah. He
spins me around, swats the cannon out of my hands with his other massive paw and yanks me towards his
face. Up this close, I can see his dark skin is a sea of small scars, like he’s been raked by razor blades.
I focus my mind on lifting my weapon off the ground but it just sits there. None of my Legacies are
working! Without my Legacies, I’m vulnerable. I’m worse than vulnerable. I’ve got nothing to fight with.
But I am not giving up.
‘Tell me where they are!’ Setrákus Ra roars. He pulls my chain tighter around my throat. I watch his
purple scar brighten as he asks, ‘Where are they, Number Six?’
‘It’s too late,’ I whisper as bravely as I can. ‘We’re too strong now and we’re coming for you. Lorien
will live again and we will stop you.’
The slap is so hard that I can’t feel the side of my face and my ears are ringing. I force myself to keep
staring at him. He curls his cracked lips to reveal two rows of sharp, crooked teeth. He’s so close that my
vision is slightly blurred, so I look for something I can concentrate on. I pick a tooth that’s broken in half
and leaking a thick black liquid. I’m not sure why, but this has the strange effect of making him less scary.
It’s just so gross.
‘Tell me where you’re supposed to meet Number Four in three days.’
‘On the moon,’ I say.
‘You will die in front of them. I will kill you myself.’
I don’t respond. I don’t acknowledge he’s even spoken as he tightens his grip. The pendant John and I
found in the well in Ohio, the one that was on the massive skeleton, cuts into the back of my neck as it is
pulled tighter and tighter. As he pulls the chain even more, I think of John’s face as we trained together, I
see the Garde sitting around the white table on the ship and I smile. I’m proud to have been chosen by the
Elders. Out of respect to them, I will not beg for my life.
‘So, there you are, Number Six.’ I know the voice immediately. Agent Purdy. I open my eyes to see an
old man. He has a cast on one arm and his face is covered in bruises. When he walks towards me, I see
he’s limping.
When he gets close enough, I spit at his leather shoes. Setrákus Ra laughs right into my ear.
Agent Purdy looks over my head to speak to him. ‘Did you get the information you were looking for?
Do you know where they are?’
Setrákus Ra growls and I’m whipped against the wall as an answer, my knees striking the cement first.
When I hit the ground, I’m immediately pulled back to my feet by the pendant chain. I can feel my ribs
have taken some of the impact; I think a couple of them are cracked. I’m having difficulty breathing. I try
again to use my mind to lift the cannon on the floor, but it doesn’t budge.
‘So nice of you to join us here, Six,’ Purdy says. ‘I see you’ve met Setrákus Ra.’
‘You’re a coward,’ I whisper. Legacies or no, I am going to take him down or die trying.
‘Coward? You are the one who runs from me,’ Setrákus Ra objects dismissively.
I stare hard into his maroon eyes. ‘ This is cowardly. You must think you won’t be able to kill me if I
am at my full power. And that is what I call a coward.’
Setrákus Ra’s scar glows again, the brightest yet. To my surprise, the chain around my neck loosens.
‘Put her with the girl,’ he says, pulling the pendant over my head. My stomach drops when I see it hanging
from his hand. He looks at me, and smiles. ‘I will fight you, Six. Alone. And you will die. Very soon.’
I’m dragged out of the cell and the top of my feet sweep across the cement. Then something hard hits the
back of my head. I close my eyes – better for them to think I’m out cold so it’s easier to focus on where
they’re dragging me. One right and two left turns. I hear a door open and I’m pushed forward. I stumble
until I hit something soft. Or until something soft hits me. I haven’t opened my eyes yet when I feel arms
wrap around me. When I open my eyes I’m surprised, for the second time in an hour, to see Sarah Hart.

Categories: The Rise of Nine

The Rise of Nine - Chapter 23

I come to facedown in wet grass. I lift my head and press my palms onto the ground to get my shoulders
up. I hear Eight groan from somewhere nearby. Ella calls my name, but my head throbs too much for me to
sit up and look for her.
‘Six?’ I whisper into the air. ‘Are you here?’
‘I don’t see her anywhere, Marina,’ Ella says, coming over and sitting down next to me. I lay my cheek
back down on the grass and allow myself to just lie there for a few more minutes. Ella brushes a lock of
hair off my cheek, but I’m numb and don’t feel a thing. Sickness rises in my throat as I hear Eight continue
to groan. Ella seems unaffected. I never want to teleport again.
I look around. My vision keeps doubling, and I struggle to bring it under control. Based on how green
and lush it is, it’s obvious we didn’t land where we intended. ‘This isn’t New Mexico, is it?’
‘Not even close,’ Ella whispers.
I finally feel as if I can move, albeit slowly, and I look up at Ella. Her brown eyes are hard to read in
the darkness, then I register it must be the middle of the night. I look past Ella and into the starry sky. I
flash back to the blue ocean, to Eight turning into a black octopus. Then I remember what Ella said just
before we teleported.
‘Ella. Did I imagine it, or did you say you talked to Six?’ She nods. ‘With your mind, right?’
Ella looks away. ‘I’m sure you think I’m nuts. I keep asking myself if it really happened. Maybe I just
wanted it so badly. . . .’ Ella shakes her head and looks down at me, her face serious. ‘No. I did not
imagine it. I know I spoke to her. She said she was in a desert. That must mean she made it to New
Mexico, right?’
‘Ella, you’re not crazy. I believe you and I think you’re right,’ I say, pressing my fingers against my
pounding temples, willing away the pain and the fuzz that keeps me from thinking clearly. ‘You must be
developing a Legacy. What we need to do now is figure out how it happened that time so we can do it
again. ’
Ella’s eyes widen. ‘Really? You think it’s a Legacy? What’s it called?’ she asks eagerly.
‘Telepathy,’ Eight’s voice comes from behind me.
I roll over, grimacing from the pain, and look up at Eight, who’s standing on a huge stone slab held up
by two even larger gray boulders.
I sit up, roll over onto all fours, and get unsteadily to my feet. Hands on hips, I turn around and realize
this place looks awfully familiar. But it isn’t because I’ve been here before. I know this place from all the
pictures, from textbooks. I look back up at Eight. ‘Are we seriously at –’
‘Stonehenge? Oh, yeah.’
‘Wow,’ I whisper, slowly turning around again to survey the scene. Ella walks over to a stone that must
be twentyfive feet high, her head tipped back as she drags her hand across the surface. I understand the
impulse to reach out and touch it. I mean, it’s Stonehenge. I can’t help but join her. The stones are cold
and smooth, and just touching them makes me feel like I’m three thousand years old. Some are in perfect
shape while others look like they must be mere shards of what they used to be. We all wander around for
a while, seeing up close what most people only ever see in textbooks.
‘Eight? What is telepathy, exactly? Do you know how to use it, and how I can control it?’ Ella asks.
‘Telepathy is the ability to transfer thoughts from one being to another. You’re able to communicate
with someone else’s brain. Go ahead, try it with me.’
Ella circles around and comes to a stop in front of Eight. She closes her eyes. As I watch, all I can think
is how amazing it would be if Ella has developed this Legacy. It would allow us to connect the Garde, no
matter where any of them are, anywhere in the world. After a few seconds, Ella opens her eyes and looks
at Eight. ‘Did you hear me?’
‘I didn’t,’ Eight says, shaking his head sadly. ‘You just need to keep trying. It always takes time to
figure out how to work with our Legacies. Telepathy will be no different.’
Her shoulders sag in disappointment anyway. ‘Your Chests are over there, by the way,’ she says,
pointing.
Eight turns to me, stretching from side to side. ‘I just need a little more time to recover from that last
one. I want to be as strong as possible when we try again for New Mexico, okay?’ He climbs up on a
nearby rock.
‘I don’t know,’ I sigh. ‘I felt so horrible when I came out of that last one. Injuries are one thing –
telepathy makes me feel sick. I don’t know if I can do it again. And what’s to stop us from ending up back
at the bottom of the ocean? Meanwhile, it sounds like Six is in serious trouble, and we’re bouncing
around from place to place. We may never land in New Mexico!’
‘I know, I know,’ Eight says, hopping down from a stone and brushing off the dust from his pants. ‘I
know how frustrating this is. But doing something is better than nothing. And the only thing we can do is
keep trying until we get where we need to go. We three will stick together, we will keep trying and we
will find Six.’ I don’t know where he gets his calm, his conviction.
Ella wanders off behind a grouping of stones as I say, ‘You know, there are other ways of getting from
one place to another. We could just find an airport and fly there from here.’
Eight scratches his chin, deep in thought as he starts to walk. I follow him to the center of the
monument. ‘If Six really is in trouble, an airplane isn’t the solution. It would take us forever to get to her.’
He stops for a minute and turns to face me. ‘Besides, I see us finding her.’ I look at him quizzically, but he
just grins and shrugs. What does he mean?
‘Eight. Did you have a vision? What else did you see? Who else did you see?’
He shrugs. ‘I can’t really tell you more than that. I just see it; or, I feel it. I think it’s a Legacy I haven’t
figured out yet. The only way I can describe it is that it feels like a sixth sense.’
‘Is that how you knew we were coming to India?’ I ask.
‘Yeah,’ he says. ‘I don’t have any control over it. These flashes, images, just come to me.’
We continue to walk through the group of massive stones and find Ella off by herself, sitting against a
rock. When we approach, she looks up and says, ‘I keep trying to talk to Six again, but nothing happens.
Maybe it never did happen.’
I kneel beside her and put my arm around her shoulders. ‘Legacies take time, Ella. I know when mine
appeared for the first time, it was usually when I was upset or in danger. They come at a time when they
are of the most use, when they might save us. My Legacy that allows me to breathe under water came as I
almost drowned. Also, the teleporting may have affected you, so maybe it will take a while to work
again.’ I give her shoulders a squeeze.
‘It’s true. The first time I teleported,’ Eight says, ‘my Cêpan was about to get run over by a taxi. I just
appeared next to him, like that.’ He snaps his fingers. ‘It’s the only reason I was able to pull him out of the
way.’
‘I miss Crayton so much, right now,’ Ella says. ‘He always helped me with this stuff. What if I’m never
any help to the Garde? Sometimes, I wish I was never chosen by the Elders.’ Her voice trails off and she
slumps down, looking absolutely dejected.
‘Ella.’ Eight takes a step forward. ‘Ella. Look at me. You can’t think that way. We are so happy you’re
here. We need you. If you weren’t here, we would be looking for you. You are exactly where you should
be. Right, Marina?’
‘Ella, do you remember what we used to say, back in the orphanage? We are a team. That means
something important. We take care of each other.’ As I’m talking, I realize that my aversion to teleporting
is selfish. The only hope we have of finding the others is by getting to New Mexico. The safest, fastest
way to get there is by teleporting, even if it means landing in the wrong place a few more times. I will not
allow my fear to endanger anyone. When one of us is weak, the rest of us need to be that much stronger.
I give her shoulder another squeeze. ‘We will get to New Mexico, find Six, and we will continue to fight.’
Ella nods but remains quiet.
We all wander off, lost in our thoughts. I know I need some time to clear my head, to be as strong
mentally as I feel physically, before we move on. This place is so peaceful, and it’s so quiet, that it’s the
perfect setting in which to think. An hour or so later, I walk into the center of the circle to see Eight
leaning down and picking a stone up before dropping it.
‘Eight! What do you think you’re doing?’ I yell, alarmed. ‘Do you remember where we are? This is a
sacred, historic, ancient place! You can’t just kick rocks around! Put them back where they were!’
Before he even has a chance to return the stones, I use my telekinesis to do it myself. Stonehenge may
not be my history, but it is someone’s, and that deserves more respect than Eight is showing right now. I
want to leave this place exactly as we found it.
Eight looks up at me, surprised by my anger. ‘I’m looking for the Loralite stone. I know it’s half buried
around here, under one of these stones, and we have to find it if we’re going to go anywhere,’ Eight says.
‘Well, just make sure you put them back exactly where you found them when you’re done looking,’ I
grumble. ‘Stonehenge is one of the most famous places on Earth. Let’s not ruin it.’ I am tired of leaving
destruction behind.
Eight makes a big show of peeking delicately under a rock and returning it gently to its place. ‘I would
just like to say that Stonehenge is only here in the first place because of the Loric. Reynolds said we built
it as a cemetery for those who died fighting on Earth.’
‘Really? This is a graveyard?’ Ella asks, walking up behind me and looking around curiously.
‘It was,’ Eight says, patting a large boulder. ‘For thousands of years, at least. And then humans started
poking around, doing all that research they love so much. There is nothing like a quest to understand
everything, even if there is nothing to know. Whatever. I will honor the placement of the rocks.’ He
continues to move as if tiptoeing through a bed of tulips.
‘Let me help.’ I walk carefully among the stones, helping Eight look for the Loralite, floating several
rocks inches above the ground before setting them back down exactly as they had been. As I move on to
another group of stones I hear shouts in the distance. I lean around a stone to see two men in uniforms
running towards the monument, flashlight beams bouncing in the darkness. Ella and I duck down behind
the biggest, closest rock formation.
‘Shoot,’ I whisper. ‘Everybody hide.’
We can see the beams from their flashlights scan the ground, and whenever one gets close to us, we
shift our position around another stone just in time.
‘I know I heard something out here. Kids’ voices,’ the smaller of the two guards says.
‘Okay. Well, where are they?’ the other guard asks, looking around. There is a distinct note of disbelief
in his voice.
Both men are silent for a moment. I peek around the stone to see the larger guard looking around,
annoyed by the lack of evidence of intruders. Then something catches his eye, but I can’t see what it is.
I’m worried. What could he have found? ‘Bill? Come over here and look at this. Where do you think these
came from?’
‘Huh. Don’t know. They sure weren’t there earlier,’ the other says.
I nearly jump out of my skin when Eight materializes next to me. ‘They found our Chests,’ he whispers.
‘I’ll just toss the guards into the pasture, okay? We need to find the Loralite, so we can get the hell out of
here, and that’s not going to happen until those guys leave. And I am not letting them leave with our
Chests.’ His voice is grim.
I’m about to say no when my brain begins to buzz. After a brief echo of static I hear Ella’s voice in my
head: I can distract them while you find the Loralite. I look over at her in shock, eyes wide.
Ella squeezes my hand and whispers, ‘I can distract them –’
‘I already heard you,’ I interrupt. ‘Ella, I heard you in my head!’
She smiles widely. ‘I thought it worked this time. Wow! I did it!’ she whispers excitedly.
‘Hey, you two, keep it down,’ Eight whispers. ‘Do we have a plan?’
‘I have an idea,’ Ella responds. Shrinking herself into a six year-old, she runs wide, out past the outer
circle of the stones, then walks back towards the men. She puts on her best little girl voice as she calls
out, ‘Daddy? Where are you?’
‘Hello?’ One of the guards calls back. ‘Who’s out there?’
Eight teleports away while I watch Ella. She is standing still, shielding her eyes from their flashlights.
She’s quite the actress. She sounds legitimately lost and worried. ‘I’m looking for my daddy. Have you
seen him?’
‘What in the world are you doing out here, little girl? Where are your parents? Do you know what time
it is?’
As they approach her, Ella starts to sob, stopping the men in their tracks. ‘Now, now, just calm down,
no need for tears,’ the larger one says in a soothing tone.
Ella turns up the waterworks and says, louder now, ‘Don’t touch me!’
‘Hey, hey, nobody’s touching you,’ the other says in alarm. They are looking at each other, both
confused and at a loss as to what to do with her.
‘Psst, Marina,’ Eight whispers. He’s behind me with a Chest under each arm. ‘We have to find the
Loralite. Now! She can’t hold their attention forever!’
We run into the center of Stonehenge. Eight and I start checking under every rock we can find, as
quickly as we can. There are only a few left to check when we hear the men coming back towards us, Ella
in tow, still sniffling.
‘Okay, I think it’s time for another distraction,’ Eight says, disappearing again. He reappears by the
outer circle of stones, plants his hands on an upright slab, and pushes hard. All I can do is watch in
horror, frozen to the spot. The huge stone wobbles and then slowly tips backwards, then the horizontal
slab on top falls too, and that’s when Eight starts yelling, ‘Help! Help! The stones are falling over!
Stonehenge is falling down!’ I will kill him. I clench my fists at my side, which is when I realize I still
have a small rock in my hand. I lean down and carefully, pointlessly, return it to its spot.
The guards break into a sprint towards Eight’s voice, and when their flashlights catch the falling stones,
they scream in panic. The smaller guard runs to get in between two vertical stones, but it’s too late. They
connect and collectively tip to the right. The horizontal slab that was over them lands on the ground with a
thud. My mouth falls open as the stones tip, one by one, going over like dominos.
‘Code Black! Code Black!’ the large guard screams into his walkie-talkie, then tosses it to the ground.
He wraps his arms around one of the massive vertical stones remaining upright, trying with all his might
to stop it from going over with the others. But it’s pointless. The massive stones keep falling.
Eight appears back by me and tips over two small stones, and suddenly a faint blue glow lights up his
legs. ‘I found it! Over here!’ he whispers excitedly. I’m relieved to hear he’s found the Loralite, but I’m
too focused on the demolition of Stonehenge to be excited. I can’t believe he did this. I’m furious. Ella
runs past me as I dart under one of the few slabs still in place and use my telekinesis to slow down the
boulders in motion.
The larger guard slams his back against a stone that’s next in line to tip, and the other guard joins him. I
wrap my mind around their stone and hold it steady. When it’s hit with another falling boulder, I don’t let
it tip. The guards slide away from the stone and fall to the grass, shocked by their sudden show of
strength. Next I reverse the domino effect so the fallen boulders push each other back up, and I stabilize
them in their original positions. Then, using what little strength I have left, I slowly lift the horizontal
slabs off the ground and set them back on top of the boulders.
The guards watch all this, mouths agape, too stunned to respond to the crackling, concerned voices
squawking from their walkie-talkies.
‘Marina,’ Ella whispers. ‘Hey. Marina, we need to go. Now. Come on.’
I walk backwards towards the center of the monument, relieved and able to leave, now that I’ve
managed to put everything back together.
I stalk over to Eight and yank my Chest from him. Still furious and unable to look at him, I grab hold of
his hand. Ella carries Eight’s Chest while clinging to his other hand. We stand, joined together, over the
blue Loralite. The last thing I hear before the darkness comes is the larger guard – defeated and ready to
be done with this particular adventure – responding into his retrieved walkie-talkie, ‘False alarm.’

Categories: The Rise of Nine

The Rise of Nine - Chapter 22

I wake to the sensation of rocking back and forth. Everything hurts. My whole body feels fried by the
sun: my throat, my skin, my feet and my head. My lips are so dry and burned, I can’t even put them
together. My eyelids are the worst of all, and they refuse to open, no matter how desperately I want to see
where I am. The rocking and swaying continues and it dawns on me I must be in a moving vehicle. A
wave of nausea rolls over me. I try to lift my hands to my head, but that’s when I discover they’re tied
down. So are my legs. Now I’m wide awake, and I force my eyes open and look madly around, but all I
see is darkness. I close my eyes again. The desert sun must have left me blind.
I try to call out for help, but all I can do is wheeze and cough. My ears pick up an echo, and I
concentrate on the air around me. I cough again, just to hear the echo once more. It’s enough sound to
understand I’m in a tight space, and that the space around me is made of metal. It feels like I’m in a coffin,
and I almost wretch.
That’s when I start to panic. What if I’m not blind? What if I’m really dead? I can’t be. I am in way too
much pain to be dead. But I feel buried alive.
My breath starts to come fast and furious when a man’s voice stops my panic attack cold. It’s loud and
electronic, coming through a speaker. ‘Are you awake?’
I try to answer him, but my throat is too dry. I tap my fingers on the bench and realize it’s metal, too. A
few seconds later there is a noise to my right, and I can sense something has been placed near me.
‘There’s a glass of water and a straw beside you. Take a sip,’ the man says.
I turn my head and find the straw with my mouth. The skin on my lips cracks as I try to close them
around the straw. When I take a sip of water, I can taste the metallic tinge of blood and I hear a low
humming in my ears. It’s the same hum I heard at the gate. The box I’m in must be flowing with electricity.
‘What were you doing at that gate?’ The man asks. Every time he speaks, I am struck by how neutral his
voice is. It isn’t friendly, but neither is it threatening.
‘Lost,’ I whisper. ‘I was lost.’
‘How did you get lost?’
I take another sip before saying, ‘I don’t know.’
‘ You don’t know. I see. Your number is six, is it not?’
I cough and choke at the question, mentally chewing myself out for doing so. I’m usually cooler than
this, but my mind is completely cooked by the sun. If he wasn’t sure of the answer before, he is now. I
resolve to get a grip, to stop making stupid mistakes.
The voice is back. ‘Well, number six. You’re pretty famous around here. The footage from the high
school in Paradise and the way you took down those helicopters in Tennessee was impressive. And then
there’s the incredible show you put on in D.C. last week, breaking John Smith and Sam Goode out of a
federal facility. You are quite the little warrior princess, aren’t you?’
I’m still stuck on how he could know who I am; now he’s talking like he had front-row seats to my life?
My body sways hard to the left, and I realize I must be in a moving vehicle that just took a turn, taking me
who knows where. I push against the strap over my forehead – nothing happens. I try using my telekinesis,
but as soon as I even start to focus my thoughts pain rolls through my stomach so bad I almost throw up
again.
‘What you need to do is relax. Trying to fight isn’t going to get you anywhere. You’re dehydrated and
most likely have heat stroke. You’re going to feel pretty sick for a while.’
‘Who are you?’ I manage to ask, painfully.
‘Agent David Purdy, FBI ,’ he says. I feel slightly better knowing I’m in the hands of the U.S.
government, not captured by the Mogs. I couldn’t go through that again, knowing what was coming,
especially now that the charm that protected me the first time has been broken. With the FBI , my chances
of survival have just skyrocketed. No matter how aggressive they are, they aren’t monsters. All I need
right now is a little patience; the opportunity to escape will come. Purdy doesn’t know that, probably
assumes it can’t be true. Right now, I’ll just follow his advice. Relax. Rehydrate. Wait. I might as well
see what else he’s willing to tell me about what he knows about me, what he knows about all of this.
‘Where am I?’ I ask.
The speaker squeals before Agent Purdy answers. ‘You’re in a transport. It’s a short trip.’
Again I try to use my telekinesis to undo my leg straps, but I’m still too weak and the attempt makes me
nauseous again. I take another couple of sips of water to give myself time to think. ‘Where are you taking
me?’
‘We’ve got a reunion planned for you with a friend, or maybe I should say a friend of John Smith’s. Do
you call him John? Or, do you call him Number Four?’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ I say. I pause before answering. ‘I don’t know anyone named
John Four.’
All of a sudden, I remember what happened back in the desert, just before I blacked out at the gate. I
felt half out of my mind, so much so I wasn’t even sure the helicopters landing close by were even real. I
remember hearing Ella’s voice. No. I didn’t just hear her voice; we spoke to one another. She asked, I
answered. Given the fact that it’s the FBI who has me, it’s a pretty good bet there really were helicopters.
If those were real, maybe I did communicate with Ella. Has a new Legacy kicked in? Just when I needed
it most.
Ella? Can you hear me? I try again, just in case. The FBI is holding me, some agent named Purdy has
me locked up and we’re in some kind of vehicle. Purdy says it isn’t far, wherever it is we’re going.
‘How did you get to the desert, Number Six?’ Purdy’s voice interrupts. ‘Weren’t you just in India, with
your friends? Remember that? Just like all the other kids, reading schoolbooks and being kidnapped at the
airport.’
How does he know that?
‘How did you know where the base was?’ His voice is losing a bit of its neutrality. I think I hear just a
hint of impatience.
‘What base?’ I ask. I’m having a hard time thinking straight.
‘The one we found you dying outside of in the desert. How did you know where to find it?’
I try to turn invisible, but again, the moment I try testing my Legacy, my stomach erupts with a ferocious
and immediate pain. I want so badly to curl up in a ball, but the straps hold me flat and the pain takes my
breath away.
‘Drink your water,’ the agent advises again. His voice is back to its detached neutrality.
Just as I did the first time, I obey, take a sip and wait. The pain finally starts to dull, but then a powerful
wave of dizziness washes over me. My mind feels like it’s a car careening out of control, swerving this
way and that. The thoughts, too many of them to be coherent, come fast and furious. The events from the
last few days flash by me. I see myself taking hold of Marina’s arm right before we teleported. I see
Crayton lying motionless. I watch myself saying goodbye to John and Sam. I almost forget where I am.
That is, until the voice forces me back to my present circumstances.
‘Where is Number Four?’ He is nothing if not consistent, this guy.
‘Who?’ I ask, forcing myself to focus on what he’s saying. If I don’t, I’m going to make another mistake
like I did before.
All of a sudden, the calm voice is completely gone. He screams through the speaker, ‘Where is Number
Four?’ I wince at the noise.
‘Go to hell,’ I spit. I’m not telling him anything.
Ella? Marina? Anyone? If anyone can hear me, you need to say something. I need help. I’m in some
desert. All I know is I’m near a U.S. government base, and the FBI has me. We’re going somewhere,
but I don’t know where. And there’s something wrong with me. I can’t use my Legacies.
‘Who was with you in India, Number Six? Who were the man and the two girls?’
I stay silent. I picture Ella’s face. The youngest Lorien left. I know how that must weigh on her. And
now, she’s without Crayton. It was just a day ago I was jealous of what they had, and now he’s gone.
‘What numbers were they? Who were the girls?’ Agent Purdy sounds impatient, though his voice is
calmer now.
‘That’s my band. I play the drums. They sing. I love Josie and the Pussycats , don’t you? I like to
watch retro cartoons. All the kids are doing it.’ My lips crack and bleed again when I smile. I don’t mind.
I taste my blood on my tongue and smile wider.
‘Six?’ the man asks in a gentler voice. I guess he’s going to try the Good Cop tactic. ‘Was that Number
Five and Seven you were with at the airport in India? Who is the older man? Who are the girls?’
Suddenly it’s as if I can’t control what comes out of my mouth. My voice doesn’t even sound like mine
when I say, ‘Marina and Ella. They’re sweet, sweet girls. I just wish they were a little stronger.’ What am
I saying? Why am I saying anything?
‘Are Marina and Ella members of your race? Why do they need to be stronger? And what number is
Marina?’
I catch myself this time before answering, shocked that I even opened my mouth to answer again. I
concentrate all my energies to find my voice, to respond as I know I should. It’s like I’m battling a war
within me. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. Why do you keep talking about numbers?’
Agent Purdy’s voice blasts into the box. ‘I know who you are! You’re from another planet! I know you
kids go by numbers! We have your ship, for Christ’s sake!’
At the mention of our ship, my mind starts to spin. I flash back to the journey from Lorien. I see myself
as just a kid, staring out the ship’s windows at the emptiness of space as we travel towards Earth. I eat at
a long white table and look at the other eight kids, each with their Cêpans. There’s a boy with long black
hair laughing and throwing food. A blonde girl sits next to him quietly eating a piece of fruit. The Cêpans
at the end of the table watch the kids closely. I see a young Marina crying, her legs tucked up to her chest,
sitting on the floor under a control panel. Her Cêpan is on her knees next to her, trying to coax her to stand
up with her. I remember I got in trouble with a boy with short black hair.
The next face I see is a young Number Four. His blond hair is long and wavy. He’s kicking the wall
with his bare foot, angry about something. He turns around and grabs a pillow, slamming it to the floor.
Four looks up, sees me watching, and his face turns bright red. I hand him a toy, something I’ve stolen
from him. The guilt I felt back then rushes over me all over again, just as strong as it was when it first
happened. The other faces in the room grow fuzzy.
Then I see myself in Katarina’s arms when we landed on Earth. I remember the door of the ship
opening.
Where have these memories come from? As hard as I tried before, I could never remember very much
about our journey to Earth aside from a few small details. I’ve never had this vivid a flashback before.
‘Are you listening to me?’ Purdy yells. ‘We have talked to the Mogadorians,’ he says. That statement
yanks me back to the present with a thud. ‘Did you know that?’
‘Oh, yeah? What’d they have to say?’ I ask, trying to sound like I’m just making conversation, but I
regret it instantly. Why would I admit knowing who the Mogs are? Before I can dwell on my mistake too
much, my mind drifts back to the ship, to its doors opening, to the human with brown hair and large thick
glasses standing, waiting to greet us. In his hands are a briefcase and a white tablet, and behind him sits a
big box of clothes. Somehow I know that’s Sam’s dad. Sam. Oh, how I want to see Sam again.
‘I want to see Sam,’ I slur. Even though I don’t want to say anything more, reveal anything else to the
agent, I can’t help myself. I hear my voice, feel my brain thick and sluggish, and instantly I realize there
must have been drugs in the water. That’s why I can’t hold a thought in my head, why I keep drifting into
my past, and why I feel such pain when I try to use my Legacies.
I kissed Sam. I should have kissed him for real but I was too worried what John would think.
John. I kissed John, too. I would really like to kiss John again. My stomach gets kind of squirmy when I
play back the moment when John grabbed me by the shoulders and turned me towards him. He lowered
his face to mine, but just before our lips touched, the house exploded. I can feel my chin tilt upward as I
replay the moment again and again. Except this time, when the house explodes, we kiss. The kiss is
perfect.
‘Sam?’ Agent Purdy asks, interrupting my thoughts. I was really enjoying remembering that kiss. ‘I’m
guessing you mean Sam Goode, right?’
Sam’s face is now all I can see and my head is spinning out of control. ‘Yeah. Sure. I want to see Sam
Goode.’ I can hear my voice drifting off.
‘Is he one of you? What number is Sam Goode?’
My eyelids grow heavy and I find myself falling asleep. The drugs are finally doing me some small
favor.
‘Six!’ He shouts. ‘Hey, Six! Wake up! We’re not finished here!’
His shouts jar me so badly, I jerk up, only to be stopped by my restraints.
‘Six? Six! Where is Sam Goode? Where is John Smith?’
‘I’m going to kill you,’ I whisper. My anger and frustration with being tied up and powerless is getting
the best of me. ‘When I find you, I am going to kill you.’
‘I have no doubt you’ll try.’ The agent laughs.
I try to clear my head, to concentrate on where I am. Too quickly, everything begins to spin until I pass
out. The room is tiny and made of cement. There’s a toilet and cement block with a mattress tied down on it
and a blanket that’s too short to cover me. I’ve been awake for two hours, maybe more. I’m having a
difficult time putting thoughts together. I’m trying to establish some kind of timeline from when I found
myself alone in the desert, to the gate, to waking up to my interrogation ride of horror. I need to figure out
where I’ve been, how much time has passed and what information I let slip.
Unscrambling my brain isn’t easy. Since the mo ment I regained consciousness in this cell, the overhead
lights have strobed relentlessly. I feel a sharp, pounding pain in my head. My mouth is dry and I hold my
churning stomach as I try to focus on the most important part of my recall, my conversation with the agent.
I manage to turn invisible, just to see if I can, but as soon as I do I’m attacked with that extreme nausea I
felt on the ride, so I materialize immediately. Either the drugs are still in my system or this is being caused
by something else.
I close my eyes for a few minutes to escape the flashing lights. They’re so bright, it’s impossible to
block them out entirely. I remember Agent Purdy said he was in contact with the Mogadorians. Why
would the U.S. government be talking to the Mogadorians? And why would he admit that to me? Don’t
they know the Mogs are the enemy? What I can’t figure out is, how much does the government know about
me, about my kind? As soon as the Mogadorians wipe out the Garde, the next thing they’ll do is kill every
last human on Earth. Doesn’t the government know that? I’m guessing the Mogs have presented a very
different picture of themselves.
I hear a man’s voice come from somewhere above me. It’s not Purdy, the agent who spoke to me in the
container. I open my eyes to look for a vent or speaker, but I can’t see anything with the strobe light
flashing relentlessly.
‘Prepare yourself for transport, Number Six.’ A small panel in the middle of the metal door opens with
a clang. I stumble over and find a plastic cup of purple liquid sitting on a shelf. My insides gurgle at the
sight of it. Why is it purple? Is it drugged, like the water I was drinking earlier?
‘You must drink the water to be transported. If you do not drink the water, we will be forced to inject
you with it by any means necessary.’
‘Go to hell!’ I yell at the ceiling.
‘Drink,’ the voice repeats. It does not invite discussion.
I pick up the cup and walk to the toilet. I hold the cup high and tilt it, making a big show of pouring it
out. The last drop has barely fallen when the cell door whips open. Several men with batons and shields
rush in at me. Acid bubbles in my stomach as I try and steel myself for a fight because I know I’m going to
have to use my Legacies. I decide that this time, I can do it. And maybe I can use the flashing lights to my
advantage.
I greet the first officer with an open punch to the throat. As a baton swings down at me on my left, I
catch the attacker’s wrist and give it a good twist. I hear it snap. He screams and releases the baton. Now,
I have a weapon.
The officers form a circle around me but in the flashing light, our movements look like they’re
happening in slow motion and are hard to follow. I pick a man at random and attack, cracking my baton
across both his knees. He falls and I pounce on his neighbor. The physical exertion causes sickness to
crawl up my throat, but I swallow it back down. Now that I’ve managed to push through once, hopefully it
will become easier. I slam the butt of the baton on the man’s temple. One of the remaining men hits me on
the back of my head with something, and another one grabs a chunk of my hair and yanks. Using my
telekinesis, I smash them against each other. The body slam makes both of them fall, and I kick them hard.
The once incapacitating sickness ebbs and flows, but my strength doesn’t – it is back. Now armed with
two batons, I fight off three more men. When they start firing Tasers, I freeze the sharp probes in the air
before swinging them back towards the shooters. Finally, the doorway is clear and looks like it is staying
that way. When I step outside the cell, I brace myself and turn myself invisible. The pain is the worst yet,
but I know I can push past it. I just need to hold on for a little while longer, until I can get out, and find the
others.

Categories: The Rise of Nine

The Rise of Nine - Chapter 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, repeating 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.
A dozen stones flip in front of me, and then fifty on both sides. The largest, best-equipped Mog soldiers
I’ve ever seen surround me. I create a small ring of fire around myself and move backwards, the fire
maintaining its perimeter until I’m against the wall of the arena. The fire burns between the Mogs and me.
Somehow, though, I don’t think my position is particularly secure.
I widen the ring of fire around me until it hits a row of soldiers. They catch fire, but don’t turn to ash. In
fact, they walk right through the fire with their weapons up. I throw dozens of fireballs, but this time they
have no effect. Something red zips in the air over my head, and I watch it puncture the chest of a Mog
soldier who continues to march forward. I recognize the item. It’s Nine’s staff. Nine drops out of the
empty bleachers to the spot right next to me. Even in the middle of an attack, I feel relieved to see him. I
immediately feel safer, more confident that even these fire-resistant Mogs will be defeated now that it is
the two of us.
‘Nice of you to join me!’ I yell.
He stands right next to me but doesn’t seem to hear my voice. ‘Hey, Nine!’ I try again, but he doesn’t
still react. He just keeps staring at the advancing Mogs.
When the soldiers are only a few feet away from us, the ground below our feet starts to tremble and
quake. I try and hold on to the wall, but I can’t keep my balance. Next thing I know, a tremendous boom
shakes the opposite end of the arena and pieces of black rock rain down on us. Nine dodges a large
boulder that slams into the wall behind me, leaving a giant hole that leads to the outside. Looking through,
I can see blue skies.
From the swirling dust and flying debris a large stage rises out of the explosion. There, in the middle, is
Setrákus Ra. Like an evil rock star, I can’t help but think. The purple scar around his neck burns brightly
above the three blue pendants on his chest. To my horror, the moment he appears, my fire goes out. I try to
illuminate my legs with my Lumen, but my palms suddenly won’t light. Setrákus Ra slams the end of his
golden staff with the moving eye onto the ground and roars for silence. The soldiers in front of me snap to
attention, turning from me and Nine to him. One by one, they rest their weapons at their sides.
‘All of you have been chosen to end this fight!’ Setrákus Ra yells. ‘You will go forth and you will
destroy the Loric children. When they are dead, you will bring me their pendants and their Chests. You
will crush their human friends. You will not fail me!’
The Mog soldiers cheer and raise their fists in unison.
Setrákus Ra slams his staff down on the stone floor with another thundering bang. ‘Mogadore will rule
this galaxy! Everything, on every planet, will be ours!’ The soldiers cheer and wave their weapons in the
air.
‘Together, we will fight. I will fight with you. Together, we will win this battle and annihilate all who
live on Earth!’
I try again to light my Lumen but it still doesn’t work. Then I try to lift a large sharp stone at my feet
with my mind to launch at Setrákus Ra. It doesn’t budge. My bracelet shield has retracted and shows no
sign of kicking into action. My Legacies – and my Inheritance – have left me.
The soldiers have turned back around and once again aim their weapons at us. Without our Legacies,
we’re sitting ducks. We have to get out of here.
‘Nine! This way!’ I yell.
Finally, this seems to get through to him. He whips his head around and looks at me. We move towards
the hole in the wall. Standing in a ray of cold sunlight at the lip of it, I peer down into a valley, thousands
of feet below. I look over my shoulder; there are Mog soldiers charging at us.
‘We’ll walk on the side of the mountain,’ Nine says. ‘Here. Take my hand.’
I grab his hand. We’ve only taken a single step down the side of the snowy mountaintop when we
realize Nine’s Legacy has failed him too. Instead of feeling the mountain beneath my feet, there is only air.
We’re falling. I look over at a shocked Nine, his long black hair whipping all around his face. Below us,
two dark doorways are approaching fast. I prepare myself for a painful impact, my stomach doing
backflips as I fly through the air. To my utter amazement, I go headfirst through the door on the left and I
keep falling until I find myself in a dark tunnel alive with booms of thunder, cracks of lightning. The
whispering starts again, and as the tunnel turns to green to blue and back to black, the hoarse voice I heard
when the vision began speaks again: ‘New Mexico.’
My eyes snap open and I sit up, my face damp with sweat. I rip off the sheets that cling to me. New
Mexico. I leap up and charge down the hall towards Nine’s room, determined to convince him once and
for all. If I have to fight him again, so be it. I will keep fighting until I win.
I stop in front of Nine’s door and turn on my Lumen, needing to confirm that my Legacies really haven’t
abandoned me. I knock and push the door open. I’m surprised to find Nine sitting up in bed with his head
in his hands.
‘Nine,’ I say, flipping on the light. ‘I’m sorry, I know a deal’s a deal and you did beat me. But we have
to go to –’
‘New Mexico. I know, Johnny. I know.’ He shakes his head. I’m not sure if he’s trying to wake up or
come to grips with his sudden reversal. Probably both. ‘Just let me wake up a bit.’
‘So, you’ve reconsidered?’
He plants his feet on the floor, one at a time. ‘No, I haven’t reconsidered. But when you’re falling to
your death off a mountain because your Legacies don’t work and some ghost keeps repeating “New
Mexico,” you take the hint.’
‘You had the same vision?’ I ask. The comfort I felt when I saw Nine – it was because he was really
there. It dawns on me that Nine and I have a connection and I should give him more respect than I have
been. I have to stop seeing him as an adversary. Our lives depend on it.
Nine pulls on a shirt, and gives me a condescending look I know well. ‘No, you idiot. Haven’t you
figured it out yet? I didn’t have a vision too. We were in the same vision. It’s been happening all week.
Get a clue, would you?’
I’m flustered, and I don’t hide it well. ‘But whenever I talked about them you blew them off. You blew
me off. You kept saying they’re just dreams and all that. You could see how the dreams have been
tormenting me, Nine! You’ve been acting like I’m nuts for taking them seriously!’
‘First of all, you believe you’re Pittacus Lore, so technically you are nuts. Second, I wasn’t messing
with your head. I did blow the visions off at first; mine and yours. Thought they were bullshit. When
Setrákus Ra asked me to surrender, just like he asked you and that other kid, I figured the visions were a
form of mind game or some trick, perpetrated by the Mogs. I didn’t think we should trust them; I definitely
didn’t think we should do anything they suggested we do. In fact, I thought the safest bet was to do
anything but what they wanted. But this time . . .’ Nine pauses. ‘This time, it felt like a warning. A
warning we should take seriously. Now, I’m pretty convinced that there is some serious shit about to go
down, Four.’
As relieved as I am that he has finally decided to listen, I’m frustrated it took so long. ‘That’s what I’ve
been trying to tell you! Okay, then, let’s go! Have you thought about how we’re going to get there? Oh,
man, please tell me you and Sandor have your own helicopter or airplane tucked away somewhere!’
‘Sorry, dude, they were on our wish list.’ he yawns and stretches. ‘But I do have a car in the parking
garage. And I love to drive. Fast.’
Nine and I grab as much as we can from the weapons room, stuffing two large duffel bags full of rifles,
handguns, and grenades. I pick up a rocket launcher but Nine says it won’t fit in the trunk. We need the
remaining space for ammo. Next, we race to the surveillance room to grab the tablet.
Nine sits down and starts punching keys at one of the computers. ‘I have to shut this sucker down.
Wouldn’t want any of it to be useful to someone who isn’t welcome. Do me a favor. While I’m dealing
with this, check on the Garde with that tablet thing.’
I press the blue circle in the upper corner and wait. I see our two radiating blue dots in Chicago. Then I
see one in northern New Mexico, and there’s still one in Jamaica. I wait a few seconds for the other three
to appear, but they don’t.
‘Um, Nine? I only see four,’ I say, my voice rising in panic. ‘There’re only four blue dots!’
He rips the tablet out of my hand. ‘Let me see it. They must somehow be off the grid,’ Nine says. He
doesn’t sound so sure of himself all of a sudden. He presses the green triangle and the green pulsing dots
show up on the map in New Mexico and Egypt, just like before. ‘At least the missing three didn’t take one
of the ships.’
I look closer and press the blue circle again. I realize the blue dot in New Mexico is now at the exact
same spot as the green dot. ‘That Garde in New Mexico is on top of the ship, if that is a ship.’
‘Hope whoever that is knows it would be one lonely flight,’ Nine says. I shake my head at him and look
back at the screen, trying to figure out what our next move should be.
Then it hits me. ‘Wait. The government is involved in all this somehow, right? What else is in New
Mexico? Area 51 ! Is that where this green dot is? The most well-known place for UFO sightings?’ It’s
all starting to come together.
Nine pulls the keyboard closer and starts tapping even more quickly. ‘Cool your jets, cowboy. First of
all, Area 51 is in Nevada. Second, we aliens know that place is just a decoy. It’s a meaningless airplane
hangar, give or take.’ A map of New Mexico appears on the main screen and Nine zooms in on the
northern half. ‘Okay, wait a second.’ He looks from the tablet back to the computer screen. ‘Now this is
interesting. You weren’t that far off, after all. We may not be headed for Area 51 , but we are going
someplace just as secret.’
‘What do you mean?’ I ask, while I wonder why I’m always playing catch up with this guy.
Nine pushes his chair away from the desk with an annoyingly satisfied grin on his face. ‘Holy shit. It all
makes sense now.’ He stabs the screen with his finger. ‘In this part of New Mexico there’s a town in the
middle of the desert called Dulce. Is any of this ringing familiar? No? Dulce, as in the infamous
underground Dulce Base, run by the one and only U.S. government. That must be where our ship is. Now
I’m positive those are our ships, blinking away on that screen! In their perfect wisdom, the government
feeds the rumors about Area 51 so all the UFO freaks stay away from the real deal in Dulce.’
I can’t help but smile. ‘So, now we’re going to an underground government base?’
‘I certainly hope so,’ Nine says, shutting down the computer. He practically takes a bow, so pleased
with himself for figuring all this out. ‘Although it’s supposed to be insanely secure and completely
impossible to get into. And that’s why it’s the perfect place to hide our ship.’
‘Or to hide the random aliens you find during the course of your travels,’ I add.
It feels as if everything has been turned upside down since I woke up. We quickly get moving, piling
the weapons, our Chests, and the supplies in the elevator. BK barely squeezes in with us as the elevator
doors close. Nine surprises me with how gentle he sounds when he addresses the closed doors, ‘You
were a sweet home, Chicago. I hope I see you again.’
We descend rapidly. ‘Hey, man,’ I say. ‘Remember, our real home is so much cooler.’ He doesn’t say
anything, but I see his shoulders relax.
The elevator doors open into an underground garage. We pause and carefully look around before we
start to unload. With the coast clear, Nine and I throw the bags over our shoulders and BK follows. As we
turn a corner, I see we’re headed for a car hidden under a dusty tarp. After the luxury of the apartment, I
can only imagine what must lurk beneath it. I can picture a yellow Ferrari, or something equally flashy. Or
maybe it’s a white convertible Porsche or even a black Lotus.
Nine must have read my thoughts. He winks at me and yanks the tarp off to reveal our ride. There, in all
its glory, sits an old, beat-up, beige Ford Contour. Not exactly the pimpedout ride I was expecting, but
bling is now the least of my concerns; this thing doesn’t look like it’ll even start.
‘Are you serious?’ I ask, not even bothering to hide my disgust.
Nine looks at me innocently, even though he clearly knew what I was expecting. ‘What? You were
hoping for a Camaro?’
‘Not exactly. But I was hoping for something with less rust spots. Something that looks less determined
to die,’ I say.
‘Shut up and get in, Johnny,’ he says, tossing his bags into the trunk. ‘You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.’

Categories: The Rise of Nine

The Rise of Nine - Chapter 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.’
‘Where 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.

Categories: The Rise of Nine

The Rise of Nine - Chapter 19

I’m facedown in scorching hot sand. It’s in my mouth, up my nose, I can barely breathe. I know I should
get up, try to roll over, but my bones ache too much. I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to block the pain all
over my body. I finally muster the strength to rise, but when I place my hands down to push myself up, the
sand burns them. I let myself fall back.
‘Marina?’ I groan.
She doesn’t respond. I still can’t open my eyes, but I listen carefully for any signs of life. All I hear is
the wind and sand whipping against my body.
I try to speak again, but can only muster a whisper. ‘Marina? Somebody, help me. Eight? Ella?
Anyone?’ I’m so confused I even call out for Crayton. As I wait and hope for a response, I’m hit with the
memory of Crayton’s dead body. I see it all happening again. Ella’s tears. The Mog attack. Hooking my
hand inside Marina’s elbow and Eight saying, ‘Here we go.’
The sun is so hot above me my hair feels like a blanket of fire on my neck and shoulders. Finally, I
manage to roll onto my back, and to lift my arm and shield my eyes from the blinding light. Slowly,
blinking, I open them a bit at a time. I don’t see anyone. Just sand. I struggle to my feet and hear Eight’s
voice echoing in my head: ‘I really hope this works. I’ve never tried to bring anyone else.’
Well, it looks like it didn’t work. Or, it worked, but not for me, for all of us together. Where did Ella
and Marina end up? Are they together? Is Eight with them? Are we all in different corners of the world?
Or am I the only one alone? My brain is frantically churning through all the different possibilities. If
we’ve not only lost Crayton, but also been separated, torn apart, we are so much farther away from our
goal. I feel sick with the frustration and panic. All we’ve worked for, everything we sacrificed to go to
India and find Eight – it might have been for worse than nothing.
I’m alone under a cloudless sky and a sweltering sun, with no idea of where I am or how in the world
I’m going to find another living soul, Garde or not. I scan every direction, hoping to see Marina stumble
over a dune with her hand waving above her head, Ella not far behind, or a laughing Eight, cartwheeling
across the sandy expanse, but all I see is a desolate desert.
I think about what Eight told us about how this teleporting thing works. Wherever it is that I’ve landed,
I know I’m near one of the blue Loralite stones. Even if I don’t have his teleporting Legacy, I’m hoping I
could still use the Loralite in some way. I drop to my hands and knees and furiously start to dig. I have no
way of knowing where the thing is, where to start looking, but I’m desperate. So desperate I barely notice
the sand burning my fingers.
But the only rocks I find are tiny, cracked and ordinary. Out of breath, sweat pouring down my face and
into my eyes, I finally stop and sit back. I can’t afford to expend what little energy I have this way. I need
to find water and shelter. I cock my head and listen to the wind, hoping for some kind of sign, but there’s
nothing and no one. Nothing but sand and dunes for as far as the eye can see. And that leaves nothing for
me to do but walk. I look up at the sun, orient myself using my shadow, and start to trudge through the
sand.
I walk north. With no protection from the blazing rays, my eyes stinging from my sweat running into
them, and the pain of the hot sand whipping against my entire body, I feel vulnerable in a way I’ve never
felt before. Everywhere I look, there is just an endless view of the same, and I know my body can’t
endure this intense sun for a long period of time. I struggle for a few more steps, then I turn invisible to
escape the relentless heat. This will make it hard for anyone to find me, but I have no choice. Then I use
my telekinesis to hover above the Earth, just to keep my feet away from the burning sand. The higher
vantage point only confirms my long-distance assessment of sand, sand and more sand. I squint, hoping to
see a road or sign of civilization of any kind each time I pass a dune. But the only thing that changes, the
only variation in my endlessly sandy view, comes in the form of devilish flowering cacti and chunks of
petrified wood. The clear, cloudless sky mocks me, offering not even a bit of white to manipulate into
creating a thunderstorm. When I rip open the first cactus I come near, I am devastated to find it doesn’t
hold enough water to begin to quench my thirst.
Eventually, just as my energy and spirits are almost at their end, mountains appear on the horizon,
giving me at least the prospect of some salvation. They look like they’re at least another day’s walk away,
though it’s hard to know for sure. They’re definitely too far to reach today and that is enough to send my
hopes plummeting. I know I need to find shelter.
I turn visible and hope someone will see me. I look up at the sky and see the first group of clouds of the
day. My heart leaps and I feel a small surge of energy I did not know I even had. I concentrate on creating
a storm, just a tiny one, above me. The rain is brief, but awesome nonetheless. It’s the only reason I don’t
collapse and just give up.
I keep moving until I at last come across a low barbed-wire fence. Just beyond it I can make out a faint
dirt road. It’s the first sign of civilization I’ve seen, and I’m so overjoyed I can even pick up my pace to
reach it. I follow the road for a mile or so before I reach a small hill, which I manage to get up and over.
On the other side, miraculously, I see outlines of several small buildings. I can’t believe it. Should I
believe it? It has to be a mirage.
But, no. The closer I get, the more convinced I am these structures, these signs of life, are real .
Unfortunately, the closer I get, I can also see the buildings are full of holes; crumbling, wooden skeletons
abandoned to the relentless attack of the desert. These buildings represent what happens when you’re
stuck in a place like this. I’ve stumbled into a ghost town.
Before I let my disappointment bring me to my knees, I focus on what might have been left behind.
Before the ghosts took over. Plumbing? A well? I stumble around, searching inside and outside the
structures, trying to find some source of water. I have been reduced to that one, essential ingredient. I need
to find water. Everyone needs water, so there must be some, somewhere, right?
No. Or, at least, there is none that I can find. I guess there must have been a well at some point, but
there isn’t one now. Buried by sand, ripped out by space aliens, who knows? The despair that comes over
me is like nothing I’ve ever felt before. Alone, no water, no food, no proper shelter. I yell, as loud as I
can, ‘Is there anyone here? Please! Someone! Anyone!’
A wood beam creaks from somewhere on my right. It’s not exactly the answer I’m looking for.
I look inside each building; as expected, each is emptier than the last. After I’ve confirmed just how
alone I am, I pick the corner of what I believe was once a grocery store to rest for a bit. I try to imagine
the building stocked with food and water, just to entertain myself. I pretend I’m going to cook a huge meal
for the remaining members of the Garde. At the long table in my mind, Marina sits between Eight and
Ella. I put John at the head, with me at the other end. I imagine Nine and Number Five are with us. They
kid around with each other, and share stories about all the places they’ve been. Everyone is laughing,
congratulating me on the feast I’ve prepared, and I tell them all I’m just happy they could make it out here.
‘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.

Categories: The Rise of Nine