A Hero in the Dark: 2nd Edition

Chapter 8: A 'Sixth' Sense

"Help?" he asks, all confused.

I nod. "It's kinda a long story, but I know who you are, and um, who the Mogadorians are. I've run into them myself. I know about the war, and I want to help."

I can see his confusion grow in his sparkling blue pearls. "You know who I am?"

Again, I nod. "John Smith from the planet Lorien. Henri's your Cêpan, your protector; am I pronouncing that right?" When John nods slowly, I continue, "He should be on his way. You've developed your telekinesis at Sarah's house during Thanksgiving, right? And your Lumen came in astronomy class on your first day of school." He takes a small step back, the fear in his expression clear, so quickly, I add, "It's ok, John. I only know because of Pittacus Lore, and yes, I know who he is too—or was, I suppose. Look, I don't want to hurt you. I'm human just like her. I don't think I could even if I tried. I came all the way from Canada to warn you. Obviously, I'm too late, but we need to get out of here. We need to leave as soon as possible."

Now I see it in both of them: questions on their minds. His mouth stays agape until he nods. That's when there's a groan from the doorway; vulgar, insensitive, demeaning, crude.

A Mogadorian mocks us on the threshold, pointing an odd cannon inward, and just before it glows green, its jaw drops, and it bursts into ash. Behind it appears a girl—literally! It's like she appears from out of nowhere! But perhaps the scariest part is the knife she has in her hands! "Nice job staying hidden, cowboy," she says. "The entire damn school is surrounded."

"Who are you?" asks Sarah.

"Number Six," she replies, heading towards the window. "Where's your protector?"

"At home," John answers, then looks at me hesitantly. "He's—probably on his way."

"We can't count on him coming any time soon," says the raven girl—Number Six! "These are only scouts so far, but once the soldiers arrive, the beasts won't be far behind. If we're still here by then, it'll be near impossible to escape." She pauses and looks over at us. "Do you know what that means?" We shake our heads. "It means we're going to have to fight."

I swallow. I was prepared to help the Loric; I never anticipated fighting them—I don't even know how to do that! Sarah hurries to a kitchen drawer, rolls it open, and pulls out a chefs knife, then glances at me and grabs another. I take it with reluctance.

But the thought of killing a Mogadorian myself seems absurd; I can't picture myself doing it. I know nothing on how to fight, with or without a weapon. I've never studied any form of martial arts or kung fu or jujitsu—I don't even know the difference between the three!

"Sarah—" I start and swallow to rid my nervousness. I need to stay calm, confident, brave. "She said there's a hatch in the gym."

"A hatch?" John asks.

"I'll scout it out. I can go invisible," Six says. "Stay here and stay hidden. When I get back, I'll knock three times so you know it's me."

***

It takes a while for Number Six to return. We wait for her for what feels like hours, and as nerve-wracking as it is, it's worse because I know John and Sarah are both needy with questions to ask me. I'm just grateful they haven't pressed for anything to ensure we don't give away our location, but I feel their stares in the near darkness. I try not to stare back, especially at John.

Then we hear it: Knock-knock-knock.

I'm the first to my feet and the first to the door to let her through, with the help of John Smith's telekinesis to remove the fridge. At first, I don't see anyone, and I wonder if it was a trick, but in a matter of seconds, Number Six materializes. "There are Mogadorians roaming the halls; I counted six of them in total. They're getting antsy though. I think that means the soldiers were supposed to be here already, so they can't be far."

"Then before they get here, let's find Henri and get out of here," John states.

Pixie's growing restless, spinning in circles faster than I've ever seen. Everyone drops their eyes to watch her. Six sends me a look, smirking softly. She knows.

"What are you guys smiling at?" Sarah asks.

"Yeah, is something funny?"

"You seriously don't know?" John and Sarah shake their heads.

"She's a Chimæra," I explain. "Her name's Pixie."

Pixie keeps spinning, moving so fast I can't catch a glimpse of her. I see her overall shape grow. Her cotton tail expands, becoming long, skinny, and tan. Her cute teeth and claws sharpen, jagging out of her mouth and paws threateningly.

The beast has returned. King of the cats. I reach to pet her, and she allows me to, bowing her head so my hand brushes her hair, and she purrs against me. "Whoa."

"I won't be able to make all of you invisible," Six says, "so stay together. If I disappear, don't panic; I'll still be nearby." We nod and walk the halls as quietly as we can, the lion's claws clicking against the polished floor. It's deadly silent. Enough to believe that the Mogadorians gave up on searching for us; I want more than anything to believe that, and that they went home, but I know deep in my soul that they'd never.

John and Sarah hold hands while we sneak our way around corners. I try to keep my breathing even, gripping the knife tightly as if that'll relieve my stress when suddenly, John stretches an arm out in front of me. I'm about to ask if something's wrong when I see Six at the end of the hall. Her fist is closed. Pixie lets out a growl. I'm sure it's for whatever has Six so intrigued, but when a door opens from behind me, the lion turns and pounces.

Not only is there one Mogadorian behind us, but another in the distance.

In a matter of moments, the Mogadorian in Pixie's teeth disintegrates. I cough when its particles enter my system, and the alien with him lunges at me. I'm barely able to sidestep but fall to my butt after stumbling a few feet. My knife drops and the alien stares down at me.

Our staring contest seems to last an hour, but really, it ends when Pixie bounds on him next. By the time her teeth tears him apart, the one afar aims a glowing cannon at us. John sprints after him without missing a beat. I want to yell at him to be careful, but my breath is too shallow.

He shoves a blade into its throat and the thing bursts into the same thick ash as the others, then he stands and returns to us. I make my way back to my feet, feeling a little embarrassed that I was overrun so easily, and grab the knife again.

Six leads us around the corner into the foyer and we follow her to the gym. "Everything okay? What happened back there?"

"Ran into some complications," John tells her. "Don't worry. We're all fine."

Sarah reaches for the handle, and the shot of a blaster hits the other door, singeing its surface, causing her to let out a high-pitched scream. John grabs her and pulls her down. I duck with them. Six retreats to invisibility. Before he even knows it, a dagger is through his back. "Come on!" Six shouts, making her presence known. "We need to hurry!"

Another alien laughs a deep mocking laugh from the front. He's at least fifty feet away and he raises a cannon all the same, the beam pulsing energy until it shoots through us into the gymnasium doors. We scatter to avoid the blast, John and Sarah parting one way while Six and I part the other. It steps forward to prepare another shot and as he does, the sound of a shotgun erupts. My hands fly up to my ears, but it's too late. They ring, ring, ring, and make my whole head sting in the cloud of dispersing ash. But there stands the old man from the red pickup truck. He's back, and he holds a single black shotgun in his hands as a beagle trots forward.