Rebellion In The Family

Chapter Eight: Sacrifice

The entirety of Ethan's right hand was disintegrating! My earlier thought was right, his body was made of mold! I looked up.

"Heis. Heis, we have to get him out of here, right now!" I said. He ran over, and saw Ethan's hand.

"Oh shit...come on, Winters, lets get you out of here!" He said, putting Ethan's right arm over his shoulder. Chris came down too.

"Is he alright?" He asked. I shook my head.

"The crystal heart I made for him broke. I knew it would. We have to get him out of here!" I said. However, before we could move, we saw the entire root of the Megamycete come up from out of the ground! "Holy shit..." I muttered. When Miranda disintegrated, she must have retreated into the Megamycete itself! 

"She's coming for us! We have to move!!" Heis yelled, thinking the same thing I was. Chris and Heis kept Ethan up and moving, while I kept us protected with a shield of crystals, so Miranda couldn't hurt us as we ran. However, once we made it to the bridge, Ethan began to slow down.

"Ethan, come on, we have to get out of here! Once I press this trigger, the village is going to be blown sky high! We need to go! Mia's waiting for you!" Chris said.

"Mia..? Mia...I'm so sorry...I love you!" I could tell Ethan was giving up.

"Tell her yourself, I'm getting you out of here!" Chris said.

"Ethan, please! We need to go! I can make you a knew crystal heart, something much more functional, please!" I said, but that was when he gently placed Rose in my arms. "Ethan?" I asked. He shrugged off his jacket, and placed it over Rose.

"Take care of her...watch over her and keep her safe..." Tears welled in my eyes as I realized what he was asking of me. Before we could respond, Ethan shoved the three of us away as a mold branch came slamming down between us. "Go!" He called, and we saw that he had grabbed the trigger from Chris's hand!

"Ethan, no!!" I cried, wanting to run after him, but Heis wrapped his arms around me and Rose.

"Winnie...we can't save him..." He mutter, his voice small and quiet.

"I'm sorry, Rosemary..." Ethan said, before he turned and began to walk back into the village.

"Shit...come on, we need to get out of here." Chris said, his voice cracking slightly. We all ran out of the village and to a helicopter that was waiting for us. A woman stood quickly.

"Rose!!" She said, and I walked up to her.

"I think this little girl belongs to you." I said, and placed Rose in her arms. Chris walked to the pilot.

"Get us out of here." He said. The woman, Ethan had told me her name was Mia, looked up at him.

"No, wait we can't leave without Ethan!" She said. I saw something flash in the corner of my eyes, and as I looked out of the helicopter I saw Quetzal running towards us! I smiled, he was okay! I headed for the opening and used my power to help in. 

"Quetzal, do you have Ethan with you?" I asked, however before he could answer me, the helicopter, which was now in the air, was rocked by an explosion, nearly tossing us all to the side. Mia looked at Chris.

"What...what was that? Chris what have you done?? Where's Ethan?!" Chris slammed his fist against the side of the door.

"He's gone!" Chris yelled, his voice cracking again. I turned into Heis, as he wrapped his arms around me and rubbed my back, while I began to sob. "I tried to save him...damn it, I tried!" Chris said, his voice shaking with unshed tears. "He sacrificed himself so we could all escape." Then, one of his soldiers called him over. Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked behind me, and saw Quetzal point to the small door in his chest. I sniffed and opened it. I saw a crystal heart! When I took a closer look, I realized it was the heart I had made for Ethan, but it was a darker color now. I realized that the heart contained his blood, and resting in Quetzal, my Golem now carried what remained of Ethan's life essence. I smiled a little.

"Mia?" I called, and she looked up, tears staining her face. "This is my Golem, Quetzal. I gave him to Ethan to help in his journey. Now Quetzal holds a crystal heart I had created to help him survive. I would like to give him to you to serve as a friend and protector for Rose." I said, closing the small door. She smiled and looked up at him.

"Thank you. That means a lot to me." She said. I smiled too.

"My name is Winnie Kennedy. This is my husband, Karl Heisenberg. We'd love it if you would allow us to help you take care of Rose."