The Changed

Chapter 28- Caleb

I dragged Tess by the arm and scrambled up one small hill that was part of hundreds in the valley. "Caleb! Wait!" Tess cried. I reached the summit of the hill and collapsed, breathing hard. Tess threw herself down next to me. "Caleb, we can't take out that shield all by ourselves," she panted. "There is no way we can get close enough without being seen...by either sides."

"We can do it, I know we can," I said.

"But Nick...my brother..." She stammered. I sat up and took her hands.

"Think of how many lives we could save. If we manage to take out that shield then we've won this war and we can all be free," I said. "Think about it, Tess. Free from the government forever. We don't have to run and hide anymore. Everyone would be safe." The look on her face still didn't convince me that she was in. "Look," I sighed. "Nick and my mother would never have let me help. They would have lost almost all of their soldiers before they let me try. I can't let that happen. I won't. You can go back to Nick and your brother, but I'm going to stop this." I stood up and brushed myself down. "It's your choice." I started walking down the side of the hill.

"Caleb!" Tess called. I turned. "I'm coming with you." She struggled up and joined me.

"Thanks Tess," I whispered. She squeezed my hand in reply. We marched down the hill and into the valley again. In the distance, we could see the golden dome glowing and sparking. You could just make out a perimeter of guards patrolling the outside of the dome. "It's not going to be easy getting down there, you know," Tess said.

"I know, but we have to," I said. "Maybe we should go round to the other side of the valley then see if we can take out the shield. There won't be as many guards round the back; they'll be expecting a attack from closer to the base."

"You're right," Tess said. "How long do you think it will take us?"

"A couple of days at the most," I said. "But we have to be careful so it might take a bit longer. If I know Nick, he'll have every Changed after us. We can't let them catch us and stop us because then we have lost this war." Tess nodded. We kept on walking. Soon night fell and we had to stop because we couldn't see a thing. I was slightly reluctant on making a fire but it was so cold and I hadn't brought anything to help us (stupid me!) Eventually we found a small dirt mound that we could hide behind to get away from the wind and make a fire without being seen. "I wish I had thought this through a bit more," I said through chattering teeth. "A blanket and some food might have been nice."

"You took your chance," Tess shivered. "It will work out, don't worry." We didn't talk for much longer and fell asleep against the dirt mound together.

***

I woke up to the sound of growling by my ear. I leapt to my feet and found Tess being held by two guards with the government's logo on their chests. Right next to me was a silver metal lion, its teeth bared in a snarl. "Well, what a lovely surprise," one of the guards said as he gripped Tess' arm tightly. "Mr Frost will be quite pleased."

"Let her go," I said. I tried to say it in my bravest voice but it came out as a whimper. The guards laughed.

"And what are you going to do?" the first guard cried. I glanced at the silver lion and then at Tess.

"This," I replied. Golden light exploded from my palms. The guards shrieked and let go of Tess. She kicked them as they shielded their eyes. Tess had the sense to duck and close her eyes. When the light died, she was standing beside me, her hands blazing with orange flames. The metal lion was now in between the two guards who had got their guns out. "No-now then," stammered one of the guards. "Put the fire out and come with us." The lion crouched into and attacking position. Tess suddenly blasted it with a fire column so hot that it melted the left side of its face. We jumped to the side behind the dirt mound as the guards opened fire at us. Our backs were to the mound as the bullets bounced over our heads. They tried to go round it but Tess shot fire balls at them.

"We can't just sit here!" I yelled at Tess.

"I know," she shouted back. "What do we do?" Before I could answer, the metal lion leapt over the mound and shoved its paws on our chests, its claws digging in. The guards stopped shooting. I tried to struggle up but the lion growled and bared its teeth in my face. "That's more like it," one of the guards said as they came around the mound. "Tie them up." They grabbed us roughly by the wrists and handcuffed our hands behind our backs. Tess tried to burn her way through the them but they didn't melt. "No point trying that," the guards laughed. "Mr Frost is prepared for you, missy." With the lion behind us and the guards in front, we were forced down to the valley, towards the glowing golden dome.

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Ah, right, I know, not the best chapter for how long you had to wait but I've been so busy...sorry!!! Oh and I know its short but I thought that you'd rather a shorter update than having to wait any longer.

Please comment and vote,

As always,

CricketCat