Ninjago : The Purple Ninja - Book 1

The Attack of the Great Devourer

All Katarina wanted to do was relax in her apartment, and when she switched the television on, a newswoman was warning people about a giant snake rampaging the city and that they needed to evacuate at once.

Hearing that was enough to get her to get the hell out of her apartment complex. As soon as she was out of her apartment, a few pieces of rubble fell down in front of her. She looked around and found people were getting out of their apartments as well. Before she could move and help, the people out, the building began moving by the Devourer bumping into it.

She jumped over the rubble and used her magic to levitate it and move it aside. "This way, quick!" She yelled at the people who were on the same floor as her. They perked up at the sound of her voice and ran past her. "Get to the elevator or the emergency exit. Just get the hell out of here!"

Katarina could feel the building move again, and it made her fall onto the ground. More rubble fell, this time behind her. Her eyes widened, and she sprinted towards the elevator. But it was too late; people were already inside and there wasn't enough room.

She cursed at herself loudly. There won't be a next one anytime soon; the building might fall apart with her in it!

She looked around frantically and found an emergency exit. She ran as fast as she could towards it, and since she wasn't looking where she was going, her foot found no ground beneath her. She let out a scream.

She grabbed onto the edge of the broken stairway. She looked down and saw the stairs were far down below, along with a burning fire. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me! Should've gotten an apartment on the first floor."

She tried to get back up, but she couldn't bring herself up. She decided to use her magic to get down to safety, preferably away from the fire. She let go of what she was holding onto and teleported more than a dozen feet away from the building. She landed on the asphalt, lightly scratching her bare arms.

She got up and jogged from the side of the building to the front. People were getting out of the building and running to safety. She went inside to check for anyone else, and could feel people bumping into her and warning her to get out. But she couldn't, not when innocent people could still be in the building.

She ignored the people pushing past her and trying to escort her out. There was a little girl in the lobby with tears streaming down her face. She hurried up to the little girl. "Hello, what's your name?"

The little girl looked up at her and said, "Harumi."

Katarina took Harumi's hand. "Nice to meet you, Harumi. We need to get you out of here. Where are your parents?"

Harumi pointed to the ceiling, and Katarina's eyes widened in realization. "Oh Harumi..." she said, sympathy in her voice.

More tears welled up in Harumi's eyes. "We can't leave without my mama and papa! They promised they were going to see me down here!" She pleaded, tugging on Katarina's arm in protest.

Katarina shook her head, a look of sadness on her face. "I'm sorry, Harumi, but we can't stay here. This building could fall apart on us at any moment."

"But- "Harumi said, but Katarina was already taking her out of the crumbling building. As soon as both girls got out, they could already see the city was falling apart, and it was all because of the Great Devourer. The giant snake seemed to be distracted by something. She needs to get herself and Harumi to safety.

"Where do we go?" Harumi asked, frightened. Katarina didn't know. She saw a group of people waving over to them from the other side, beckoning the girls to come over. She firmly nodded and put Harumi behind her back. With the energy she had left, she sprinted over to the group and went inside where the Devourer wouldn't get them.

Katarina set Harumi down and inspected the little girl. Her face and clothes were dirty, and tears were running down her face. She hugged the little girl and hoped that the Great Devourer wouldn't hurt them and someone would stop it.

Katarina took Harumi through the wreckage of the city, looking for an ambulance.

"I'm going to take you to an ambulance, Harumi. Some people are going to take care of you and see if you are hurt." She explained to Harumi, who said nothing in reply. Katarina was concerned, the little girl had said nothing since the Great Devourer was defeated.

She spotted an ambulance up ahead with a few paramedics, at the building that she and Harumi had escaped from hours ago. She waved at the paramedics to get their attention.

"Excuse me, can you help her?" Katarina asked the female paramedic.

"Of course," the female paramedic said, and took the now emotionless Harumi from Katarina. As the paramedics tended to Harumi, she overheard the male paramedic say, "So much for the Ninja."

Ninja? Katarina thought to herself.

"Did you see that thing? Lord Garmadon single-handedly destroyed it. He's the real hero." The male nurse continued as he bandaged up Harumi's right arm.

Lord Garmadon? As in my father Garmadon?

"What a brave little girl you are," the female paramedics complimented Harumi. "Where are your parents, child?"

Katarina looked at Harumi, as she knew that the little girl now knew what actually happened to her parents. Harumi stayed quiet, not saying a word to the paramedics. The female paramedic picked up a photo of what seemed to be Harumi and her parents. "Do you have a name?"

Harumi continued to stay quiet, and that made Katarina worry. "Well, aren't you a quiet one?" The female paramedic commented.

"What are you planning to do with her?" Katarina asked the paramedics.

"Well, after the city is rebuilt and back on its feet, we'll take her somewhere where she can be taken care of until someone adopts her." The male paramedic replied.

She nodded, and as she left, she gave one last look at Harumi and gave her a soft yet reassuring smile.