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Prolouge

Prologue to the fate of ten

I Am Number Four
Posted August 18 2015 - 11:00 AM EDT

On Sept. 1, Pittacus Lore's I Am Number Four series gets nearer to its close, as The Fate of Ten-the series' second-to-last book-hits shelves everywhere. The Fate of Ten sees the Garde stretched across North America: John is fighting the Mogadorians in New York City, where his human friend Sam has suddenly developed a Legacy; Six, Marina, and Adam are in Mexico where they've reached the Sanctuary, but can't escape. Can they fight this war without destroying each other, and humanity itself?

Check out the electrifying, exclusive trailer above, and read the prologue below:

THE FATE OF TEN by Pittacus Lore

PROLOGUE

The front door starts shaking. It's always done that whenever the metal security gate two flights down bangs closed, ever since they moved into the Harlem apartment three years ago. Between the front entrance and the paper-thin walls, they are always aware of the comings and goings of the entire building. They mute the television to listen, a fifteen-year-old girl and a fifty-seven-year-old man, daughter and stepfather who rarely see eye to eye, but who have put their many differences aside to watch the aliens invade. The man has spent much of the afternoon muttering prayers in Spanish, while the girl has watched the news coverage in awed silence. It seems like a movie to her, so much so that the fear hasn't truly sunk in. The girl wonders if the handsome blond-haired boy who tried to fight the monster is dead. The man wonders if the girl's mother, a waitress at a small restaurant downtown, survived the initial attack.

The man mutes the TV so they can listen to what's happening outside. One of their neighbors sprints up the stairs, past their floor, yelling the whole way. "They're on the block! They're on the block!"

The man sucks his teeth in disbelief. "Dude's losing it. Those pale freaks ain't gonna bother with Harlem. We're safe here," he reassures the girl.

He turns the volume back up. The girl isn't so sure he's right. She creeps toward the door and stares out the peephole. The hallway outside is dim and empty.

Like the Midtown block behind her, the reporter on TV looks trashed. She's got dirt and ash smudged all over her face, streaks of it through her blond hair. There's a spot of dried blood on her mouth where there should be lipstick. The reporter looks like she's barely keeping it together.

"To reiterate, the initial bombing seems to have tapered off," the reporter says shakily, the man listening raptly. "The-the-the Mogadorians, they have taken to the streets en masse and appear to be, ah, rounding up prisoners, although we have seen some further acts of violence at-at-the slightest provocation . . ."

The reporter chokes back a sob. Behind her, there are hundreds of pale aliens in dark uniforms marching through the streets. Some of them turn their heads and point their empty black eyes right at the camera.

"Jesus Christ," says the man.

"Again, to reiterate, we are being-uh, we are being allowed to broadcast. They-they-the invaders, they seem to want us here . . ."

Downstairs, the gate rattles again. There's a screech of metal tearing and a loud crash. Someone didn't have a key. Someone needed to knock the gate down entirely.

"It's them," the girl says.

"Shut up," the man replies. He turns down the TV again. "I mean, keep quiet. Damn."

They hear heavy footfalls coming up the stairs. The girl backs away from the peephole when she hears another door get kicked in. Their downstairs neighbors start to scream.